A Fun and Thrifty 2nd Birthday

Last week was our daughter Autumn's second birthday. Wow, how time flies- she is getting to be such a big girl already. We had some family in town so I planned a lunch-time birthday celebration. After a few years of going Dollar Tree for party supplies, their offerings just didn't do it for me. I took Autumn to the Target party supply aisle and gave her some choices. She picked a fun plate with zoo animals on it- once she saw the hippo she was hooked. This played into my plan since one of her gifts from us was a stuffed hippo. I couldn't bring myself to spend $3.50 for a plain plastic tablecloth so it was back to the dollar store for a purple one- her current favorite color. I also grabbed a Happy Birthday banner to use to decorate the table.

You may notice stickers on the tablecloth. I let her pick out three types of stickers- she went with animals, party hats/cakes, and Elmo. Throughout the week we would sit at the table and she would get to decide where the stickers went, decorating her own tablecloth! It was a cool way to involve her in the birthday preparations.

Next I had to figure out the cake. I held up a box of yellow cake mix and a box of chocolate cake mix and thank goodness she went with chocolate- that's my girl! Autumn got to help bake her cake, too. Cream cheese frosting is great on anything in my opinion, so I whipped up a batch from scratch to top the cake. She had also picked out some colored star candles so I added them to the number 2 candle I had already found. (Side note- we now live at 6000 feet and yes, baking at altitude is different. Even though we followed the high altitude directions the cake ballooned up in the middle and then collapsed! I tried to cover it as best I could with the frosting.)

It was a fun and festive celebration, Autumn really seemed to enjoy herself, and we even got a dusting of snow on her birthday morning for her to play in- maybe it reminded her of Minnesota.

As a reminder, I recently started a new blog to document our process of moving from Minnesota to New Mexico and getting settled in. You can find it at http://www.mn2nm.blogspot.com/.

Free fun, go outside!

Here in the Midwest, we have been blessed with some amazing weather this week. Sunny with temperatures in the 70's and 80's in early October? Almost unheard of! I hope those of you who live around here have been enjoying it. That said, wherever you live, from NYC to rural Georgia, free family fun is always right outside. Head to your backyard or local park. Run around in the grass, jump in fallen leaves, and eat a picnic lunch or dinner. Spending time together as a family outside is great for many reasons including improving fitness, building better relationships, and tiring everyone out before bedtime.

Twin Cities residents, if you're looking for a fun, free Autumn activity during the week, try Minnetonka Orchards. Admission is free on weekdays ($5 per person on weekends), and they have lots for kids to do, including a petting zoo, haystack climb, tractor rides, and several other activities.

Free admission to gardens throughout the US on Friday May 6

I found out about a great deal being offered by Better Homes and Gardens. This Friday, May 6 (National Public Gardens Day), they are offering free admission to public gardens throughout the United States. For more details see the link below. You just enter some information about yourself (be sure to uncheck the boxes asking for email newsletters unless you want junk mail), which garden you want to go to, and print your free voucher.

The weather is looking great for Friday, so I think my daughter and I will be checking it out.

http://npga.bhg.com/

Some participating gardens in places my readers live:
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (Minnesota)
Boerner Botanical Gardens (Wisconsin)
Olbrich Botanical Gardens (Wisconsin)
Chicago Botanic Garden (Illinois)

Thrifty Strategy- Take the bus to the State Fair

That's right, the Minnesota State Fair begins on Thursday and runs through Labor Day. My husband and I go every year and have many traditions that have to happen at the Fair!

One thrifty tradition is to use the special Free State Fair Park and Ride lots to park and get to the fair for free. No fighting traffic, and we get dropped off right at the entrance gate. We usually park at one near the University of Minnesota, but they are scattered near the Fairgrounds. In the suburbs, there are Express Busses to State Fair for $5 and Southwest Metro Transit State Fair express service for $5.


Once we get to the fair...

First, we have to see the fattest pig and get our paper Pig Ears to wear

And climb the DNR fire tower for an up-high view

See the bunnies

Check out the Miracle of Birth Barn

And of course I have to eat a deep-fried Snickers Bar on a stick and my husband has to have a Pronto Pup! I'm sure there will even be some new traditions this year since we're bringing our baby daughter.