Oh It’s ON!

Summer, I mean. And the air conditioning; for a few days anyway until some Canadian air mass blows in and cools things off.  I tell you what, being in Michigan is hard work. We are constantly assaulted, if it’s not Canadian air, it’s Asian Carp by way of Chicago.  Good thing we can still get together and celebrate our Michigan-ness.  Have you read the comments and posts (you have to click on that “McLinky” thing)? Wonderful stuff!

The kids and ended up making Michigan pancakes instead of cookies. 

And also, a lizard.

My husband is from Arizona, and since I don’t have an Arizona cookie cutter he made a lizard in that state’s honor.  He’s very fair-minded, that A.P.  Although, thinking back – how hard would it have been to free-hand the shape of Arizona?

Well, I’ll let a blogger from that state answer such pressing questions.  On to weekend fun.

It’s Memorial Day weekend, of course.  Here are my picks for where frugal, family-friendly, and interesting intersect:

• May 31 11:00 AM and 1:30 PM Coopersville Rail Road Troop Train – Free for vets, everyone else over 2 years old is $7.50 (it’s usually $10.50).
• Various parades around town as compiled by GR Now.
• Farmers’ Markets are starting to pick up a bit; use this listing from the Greater Grand Rapids Food Systems Council  to find one near you.
• If you have a Grand Rapid Children’s Museum or a Meijer Gardens membership, this is the last week for the cultural exchange between the two.  We went to the GRCM last week on a sunny afternoon and it turned out to be accidental genius.  No one else was there. 
• It’s also the last week for the Big, Big, BUGS! exhibit at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. We liked the exhibit, but not the planetarium show.
• Check out a Whitecaps Baseball game (but be sure and read my tips here first to see if you can save on tickets!).
• Relax.  This is it before open houses, weddings, camps, and the hectic lives we lead in the summer making sure we enjoy every minute.

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Forget peanuts and Cracker Jacks, just get me a 5/3 Burger

I am looking outside at this rainy day and feeling both sorry AND thankful for my husband. I wanted to go to Gleek Retreat, a blogging conference. Big Binder has been around for a few years, but I have only recently wanted to learn how to do a few cool and snazzy things I see on other blogs.  I also want to meet other bloggers, and then drive them crazy asking questions about how they do cool and snazzy things.

I bring you frugal kid stuff for a reason; I have to live frugally, or work full time.  I am not just trying to save a few bucks here or there; I don’t have the money to spend. So although Gleek Retreat was exactly what I wanted, we weren’t sure if we could afford it. Less than a week later, my husband sold one of his bikes (this brings him down to four…) and gave me the money so I could “go do that blog thing”.

I am so thankful.

In a cruel, ironic twist, I don’t have a lot to suggest for him to do with the kids this weekend while I’m gone. He could either head over to Grand Haven for the Great Lakes Kite Festival, or to Lowell for Trolls & Treats for Kids.  I was hoping that there would be a Whitecaps baseball game, but no such luck. We’ll have to wait and go as a family.

That’s fine, because as usual, I have found some less expensive ways to enjoy the game. 

• If you act quickly, you can get two free lawn seats when you donate a baseball glove.  Drop off sites at 5/3 Bank, other drop off sites, and more information is here.
•  Monday games are the JQ99 All Faiths Night, and you can get 1/2 off box or reserved seats when you show a church or community bulletin. 
• Tuesdays are Bob Evans Senior Night.  The games start at 4:45, so you have enough time for supper first. Just kidding…  The actual promotion is that people 50 years or over get half off box or reserved seats. 
• If you are not 50, but you eat Kraft Cheese Singles, you can bring the wrapper in for a buy one get one free ticket on Tuesdays.
• If you are a Priority Health member, show your card on Wednesday for $2 off reserved seats. 
• A fantastic opportunity to see the ‘Caps at a discounted rate is brought to you June 26 by the awesome Great Start Parent Coalition.  You get a ticket, plus a pop and hotdog for $4.50!!  You have to get your tickets through Great Start ahead of time.
• July 6 is Kids Day.  The tickets are all the same prices, but there will be extra kid-stuff going on.  Hopefully, there will be some beer specials that day too.

Here is some other information that may enhance your Whitecaps experience:

1. You have to have cash to pay for parking. The Parking Lot Guy With The Orange Vest is wrong. You don’t have to go into the park, use the ATM, then exit the park and walk all over the parking lot find PLGWTOV who has since moved, and give him the money.  You can just go to the Customer Service desk inside the stadium.  You’re welcome.
2. Those light-saber things are $5 and they work as an amazing discipline tool when you promise to buy one next time if your child earns enough money between now and then by doing chores.  My compost is taken out to the pile daily, and the returnable bottles and cans are bagged up, all for a very low rate.
3. If you go on a Saturday, stay for the fireworks.  They do not start “immediately after the game”  though. It’s a good 20 minutes, so just be prepared to Walk Like a Dinosaur. Boom boom, acka lacka lacka lacka boom.

There are a lot of promotions (bobbleheads and stuff) too, so check the Whitecaps Promo link to make sure you go on a day that something fun is being given away. There are several other discounts, but most of them are on food.  Sadly, none are for the 5/3 Burger which made national news last year due to it’s – disgustingness. 

Unfortunately, my husband is still determined to eat one.  And after his generosity and understanding about Gleek Retreat, I’ll be happy to let him.  I will just make sure to pack the Rolaids.

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Weekend Top Five

Here they are; in no particular order because of course I love both of my children equally; in the exact same amount and therefore, cannot rank spending time with one over the other.

5.  Being sick on Mother’s day; but having my husband wake up with the kids, clean the house with the kids, and head out of town with the kids so I could lay around and snooze in peace.

4.  My Mother’s Day gifts; which were not received on Mother’s Day because my kids could not wait.  A.P. made a little basket in school, and Maybelle made – something. I’m not sure what it is; it looks like a bee wearing a wedding veil. 

3. The Whitecaps game with A.P.  It was a mother/son event organized by his school.  He sat on my lap when he started to get sleepy and I wondered how many more times he would be willing to do that, especially in public.  It also marked my first ‘date’ with a mom from his school.  She drove.  I looked fetching in my white Adidas long sleeved t-shirt, jeans, and my freaking parka because this is Michigan and it’s May and too early for baseball games.

2. The annual Mother/Daughter tea at our church.  The little girls have a fashion show, which Maybelle didn’t want to participate in.  She came around though. Not only did she participate, when it was her turn she did something along the lines of a full axel; but instead of ice skates she was wearing her new ‘fancy’ shoes -which took us almost an entire day of trying on little girl shoes to find a suitable pair earlier this week.

1.  Did I already mention that my husband took the kids out of town today? And it was quiet?

For more Weekend Top Five, or to tell the world about your weekend, go have a visit with Kristi.

Miley and Me

Happy Derby Day y’all! I always think of my college days on the Kentucky Derby. It was in Georgia, so it was already hot out in May and I was decently tanned by this time.  Derby parties are so fun – the obligitory goofy hat and of course crushing the mint and dumping sugar and ice and bourbon in a glass… mmm. Nothing like a fresh mint julep!

But today I am hatless, pale, and drinking kombucha (my newest obsession; you’ll probably see more on this soon).  At least I got a fantastic compliment this morning.  I was getting A.P. ready to go to his first acting class, and had on a new pair of jeans.  He told me I looked “just like Hannah Montana!” in them. Except she “wears sparkly shirts” and “um, different shoes” (what, the girl is too good for Teva flip flops?).  But still, it made my day. 

There are a few tasty deals out there I want you to know about, and then I’ll get back to my reminiscing. First, my friend Jill at the Diaper Diaries posted yesterday on Freepeats (you can read the post here), which is a website new to Grand Rapids.  You can give away and/or look for gently used kid stuff (baby clothes, toys, etc).  Since it is new, they are waiving the membership fee ($4.95) until May 15th.  Definitely worth checking out if you are in need of more stuff, or in need of a place to get rid of your stuff. 

Another website I have been loving is Grand Rapids Sudden Values.  I cannot get enough of this! You sign up for the main email list, and they send you all kinds of deals and coupons.  Then you can sign up for individual businesses email lists, and they send you more coupons.  Yesterday I got $5.00 off at Twice As Nice? Nice Twice? Something like that, it is a used clothing store where I got my Hannah Montana jeans.  Today I got two free salt bagels and a dirty look from Bagel Beanery when I bought a $1.00 cookie for Maybelle and handed over my coupon. It said with any purchase…  I am thrift-ily making (or attempting to) make bagel chips out of them right now.  I also got a coupon for a free coffee without purchase, but I think I’ll use the drive through to avoid future scowling incidents.

A sweet deal I read about on Maranda’s blog (which I don’t feel bad about ripping of, since her intern does it to me all the time) starts Monday, May 4.  If you donate a new or gently used ball glove, you will get two free tickets to a Whitecaps game.  It’s a benefit for the YMCA Inner City Youth Baseball and Softball Program, which provides gloves and equipment to kids. You can drop off your glove at Fifth Third Ballpark, any Fifth Third Bank location or the YMCA.

Enjoy your day! And your jeans! And your juleps, or whatever makes you happy.