10 Week Challenge--Weekend 10

We have made it to the end of my 10 weeks of free activity weekends.  In reflection, the challenge wasn't too hard.  I wish I had been able to find more free activities in the area to highlight, but my kids keep getting sick.  If I do the challenge again, I will do it in the summer when they are less likely to get sick. 

Saturday was a Girls' Day for my daughter and me.  My husband took the boys to a taekwondo event, but my daughter didn't want to go, so we had a special day, just the two of us.  We first went to the mall to explore Toys R Us since it's closing soon.  It was fun just walking around the store and looking at toys.  As a child of the "Toys R Us Kid" generation, it's a little hard to know they'll be gone soon.  Then, we went home.  My daughter wanted her nails painted, so we had some fun with home pedicures.  We also made a delicious "baked penne" (think baked ziti but with penne pasta) for dinner from scratch.  It was a good end to our 2 months of money saving. 

As for how I did on the money front, I am finally caught up on my credit card payments.  I will be able to pay off my card the day before we leave for our trip.  And since I've already paid for most of the attractions we'll be exploring through my union discounts, the trip is looking very manageable.  I highly recommend this type of challenge to anyone.  It's reduced my weekend spending and been wonderful.

 

Today, I'm packing as much as I can for our trip.  Since I won't have much time during the week with work and my kids' activities, I have finally figured out that packing a week early is the best way to go.  There will be odds and ends that have to wait until last minute, but getting the bulk of it done makes traveling with a large family so much easier.

So here is the latest list for packing.  We're going to a beach area in central California.  Temperatures range from highs between 65 and 75 this time of year to lows between 45 and 55.  My kids, at this point, are 7 (almost 8) and 4 (x2).

We also make a car sick emergency kit.  It has paper towels, hand sanitizer, wipes, plastic bags, extra clothes, an old plastic ice cream tub, and dramamine.  One of our three kids gets car sick every time we go on road trips, so this is essential. 

Can't wait for our trip!  I'll have plenty to share when I return.

10 Week Challenge--Weekend 9

We didn't quite make it to the zoo this weekend since the L.A. Marathon was going on and we wanted to avoid traffic, but we headed north instead and took a walk around Ventura Harbor and the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center.  This is a great area of Ventura and totally free if you remember to bring yourself a picnic lunch or some snacks.  We haven't been there in a long time, but before the December fire that took out much of the mountains in the background, this was one of our favorite free adventures.  I'm happy to say that even with a little crispiness still charring the hillsides, the harbor itself is still quite beautiful, as are the mountain backdrops.

We also spent some of the weekend cleaning out the mini van.  Only 2 more weeks until our road trip and we start the prep work early so we don't have to do it all last minute!

10 Week Challenge--Weekend 8

This weekend, my two youngest were getting over colds and my youngest boy got an ear infection on top of that, so once again, our plans were somewhat thwarted (originally we were going to go to the harbor and walk around, but between them being sick and the rain storm that came through, we chose to stay home).  With that in mind, we had a lot of fun at home.  Saturday, we played Mario Kart on the Wii-U for a good part of the day in celebration of MAR10 (March 10--it's a nerd thing).  Today, we've spent the day watching Frozen and Tangled movies, shorts, and tv shows. Tonight, we are making lasagna from scratch.  If I remember, I'll post pictures.

As we get closer to spring break, I'm starting to use some of that money I've saved up through the past 8 weeks to prep for our trip.  This weekend, I found some great deals on tickets to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk through my union's discounter, Recreation Connection.  I don't use this perk of my job enough and I'm not sure why.  I was able to get 10% off the aquarium tickets, which is great when it's normally almost $50 per adult and $30 per kid.  The deal at the Boardwalk was even better.  $44.95 got me an all-day ride wristband for my oldest son plus a $25 fun card (which is like purchasing ride tickets and tokens for the arcade, but on a card for convenience).  Typically the wristband itself runs about $40, so considering the card it comes with, I think this is one of the best deals I've ever found for an amusement park, not including, of course, when I worked there and got free passes.  We didn't purchase wristbands for all 6 of us because realistically, it wouldn't make financial sense.  My 7-year-old will go on quite a few rides, but I'll only go on roller coasters and the pirate ship, my husband only does spinning rides, the 4-year-olds probably won't go on much at all except the carousel and the cave train, and my mom will probably stick with the little ones.  So, for the rest of us, we're getting a $100 fun card when we go, which gives you $15 in bonus points.  So, overall, we'll be paying $145 when otherwise we'd be paying much, much more.  Anyway, my point is, if you have a union, don't hesitate to ask if they have deals on tickets.  It's worth the effort for the savings.

I can't wait to go on this trip in just 3 more weeks!  And doing this savings challenge has really helped me feel more confident that I have the money for the trip and won't be in major debt after just 4 days away from home.  Next week, assuming everyone is healthy finally and the weather is good, we're planning a trip to the zoo on our zoo passes that were pre-paid before this challenge started.  The weekend after that, we'll be packing, so I'll provide an up-to-date list of items we pack for road trips.  Then, a week or two after that I'll be back with a trip report on all the exciting things we did and saw during our spring break road trip.

Edited on 3/18--We have pictures of the lasagna.  Sorry it took me a whole week to get them!

10 Week Challenge--Weekend 7 (And Some Off-Topic Stuff)

I don't have a lot to say about this weekend of the challenge.  Yesterday, I went out to see a concert I had bought tickets to months ago, so the focus wasn't really on finding free and exciting activities for the kids.  I got to see the Beach Boys (or what's left of them) perform live with my mom.  John Stamos performed with them and I was pretty much in heaven the whole evening.  All I will say is, if you love the band, see them live just once.  It's an awesome experience. We also had dinner at Umami, which is a trendy burger place.  I had a slider trio, including a hatch (which had peppers on it), truffle burger and the infamous "impossible" burger, which is a vegan patty that has the texture, look, and taste (to a lesser degree) of a regular burger.  For all of you reading about the impossible burger on foodie sites or social media, yes, it really is as amazing as it sounds, and, while it doesn't stay together as well as beef, it really is nothing like a typical veggie burger either.  Definitely worth a try...but I'm off topic.

Today is a pretty laid back day at our house.  My youngest son went out with his grandmother.  The other two are watching tv and building forts out of blankets, cushions, and couches.  I'm pretty tired from my late evening, so I've been reading books most of the day.  I also did meal prep for my lunches this week, which is something I've just recently started doing so I don't go out to lunch as often or find myself eating too much overly processed food.  This week, I made steak with farro and steak with wild rice and quinoa.  I get a pound of a cheap cut like "stew meat" and split it into 4 days worth of lunches.  The grains are relatively cheap, too.  Overall, I spent about $10 to make 4 lunches, so about $2.50 each day.  Not too bad considering even a cheaper lunch at a fast food place would be between $4 and $8.

10 Week Challenge--Weekend 6

I've passed the half-way point in my 10 week journey to save money.  I will admit this past week was a bit rough on the finances.  With the President's Day sales and kids needing spring/summer shoes and clothes, I didn't do quite as well as in previous weeks.  That being said, I'm still just barely within my budget, so all is not lost.

This weekend's free activities were mostly home-based.  My oldest went to his grandmother's house for the weekend, but before he left, we journeyed into the realm of table top gaming to play The Oregon Trail, which is a card-based game based on the computer game from the late 1980s/early 1990s.  It's a bit confusing at first, but by the end, we were having a blast trying to avoid dysentery.  It reminded me so much of the original computer game that now all I want to do is track the old game down and play it.

We also enjoyed some time in the backyard since temperatures warmed up a bit from our cold week.  We started raking up the piles of leaves that have been falling all winter.  The kids had a great time playing in the leaves and swinging on the swing set while my husband worked hard on the cleaning (I'll admit, I was a bit lazy.  The dry weather has been murder on my sinuses and I wasn't feeling great). 

In the rest of my free time with kids busily playing or away, I worked a bit on my novel.  Yes, I've been writing a novel.  And no, I do not plan on ever publishing it because I am a crap writer, but it's a fun way to spend some time.  I also took a drive along the PCH this morning.  It was a gorgeous day to be out!  I wish I had gotten some pictures for all of you because the sun reflecting off of the water driving south toward Malibu was just perfection.  But, I was driving and didn't think to pull over for a shot, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

10 Week Challenge--Weekend 5

On this long President's Day weekend, we stayed home to try to save money.  On Saturday, I cleaned out some of our old clothes.  There's a website called ThredUP that is essentially a consignment store.  I ordered a bag a few weeks ago and it recently arrived for me to fill.  I will mail it back to the company filled with like-new and gently used clothes, shoes, and purses.  The company then resells what they can and responsibly disposes of things they can't.  If any of my stuff gets sold, I will get a small amount of the money either as store credit or a giftcard.  If you shop second hand or just want to be a responsible consumer, this is a great way to start.

I also made a large batch of beef stew this weekend.  I haven't made stew in what feels like forever, but it's supposed to be exceptionally chilly this week and stew is a great meal when the weather calls for it.  I can't wait to enjoy it all week!

We finished off the weekend by playing board games.  My oldest son is enjoying learning chess along with his 4-year-old sister.  My 4-year-old boy is more excited for games like Chutes and Ladders.  Overall, it was great fun for all.

10 Week Challenge--Weekend 4

Okay, I know it's only Saturday and I usually update on Sunday night, but tomorrow we're literally just staying home all day grooming the dog ourselves, doing laundry, and cleaning house.  So, today I wanted to share our fun, free weekend activity. 

After being sick last weekend, I really wanted to get out and get some fresh air.  The weather was perfect.  It's been in the 80s all week, but it was only 65 degrees outside at noon today.  So, we decided it would definitely be a great day to visit the Conejo Botanical Gardens in Thousand Oaks, California.  Admission is free and there are a few hiking paths, a connected park for the kids to play at, and plenty of beautiful views.  Parking is also free.  There is a lot which had space for about 30 cars.  I suppose you could also park on the side of the road and walk in, but it's a bit of a walk from the roadside to where the parking and park gates are located.

This is one of those places I have seen the sign for on the side of the road for years, but I've never bothered to stop.  It's in a residential community and seems deceptively small from the outside.  Without this challenge to find free weekend activities, I may never have gone.  But, it's beautiful and there's plenty to look at.  Honestly, my children were more interested in the rocks (they found some very interesting igneous and sedimentary rocks on our walk), but the plants were pretty, too. 

One fair warning to families of young children or anyone with orthopedic or health issues.  The gardens are built on a rather large hill.  Almost everything is an uphill walk and the main nature hike, which we didn't get a chance to do as we still lack the stamina after recovering from being ill last week, is considered a moderate hike.  Also, there are rattlesnakes.  We did not see any, but there were signs of snake holes in various areas.

Here are some pictures from the 2 hours we spent there this afternoon: