I am blessed to have two little ones who are fond of books. We have book bins in their bedroom, living room & the family room. Reading is something that I hope for our family to do more of as the little twos grow.With the quest for less stuff, I did need to learn to be creative on how I can access more books for the kiddos without having to buy them.
Here are several ways we get a hand on kids’ books without breaking the bank:
1. Public Libraries. Signing up for your local area’s library card is Free, need I say more?! We love the area we are in as there seemed to be a library in each town. You can often borrow several books for long duration and return as soon as you are done. They also have weekly story times for little ones which I plan to take the girls as soon as it is not as rainy (or when the girls get down from getting colds!) Public libraries also hold yearly clearance sales, you can check them out to pick up books for cheap!
2. Free Ebook Downloads. You can check Amazon Kindle’s Free Ebook Downloads. These are Kindle Edition Ebooks which you can typically download onto your Kindle, phone or computer. You will need to have an Amazon account and you do need to download a corresponding Free Reading App to use your free e-books. Please note that prices do change without notice. You can borrow books for Free with Amazon Kindle Lending Library.
3. Read A Book, Give A Book. Have you heard of WeGiveBooks.org? WeGiveBooks.org combines the love of reading with the power to help others by offering over 100 children’s books that you can read for FREE with your child online. After you read it, they donate a book to one of several global campaigns that you can choose from. The more your children reads, the more books can be shared to children who needs them! Already started the little twos on these and I love that we are starting early with reading combined with sharing!
4. Bookstore and Public Events Story Times. There are plenty of story times happening all over town such as Barnes and Noble & Pottery Barn Kids, that you can attend for Free apart from the ones available at your public libraries. The little twos enjoy hearing story times immensely and I look forward to taking them to more of these.
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My girls can almost reach their bike pedals for them to learn to ride on their own. This only means we are now onto the next stage of constant requests to go outside to go for a bike ride.
Seeing this distance from their feet to their pedals got me both excited and worried. What happened? They seemed to be growing up way too fast. It wasn’t that long ago that these tiny feet fit into Hubs’ wedding ring or taking their first steps.
Sometimes I had to remind myself to just to stop, amidst scattered toys and unwashed dishes, to really just see and take in the joy that comes with raising them.
bike ride x 2!
Jennifer McLucas said it so well, relationships first, responsibilities second.
It is in this little moments, when Little Bear wants to play doctor or Little Bee wants to work on a puzzle while I am trying to quickly post the next money-saving deal, that I would pause and remember that these little moments is when you actually start fighting for their hearts.
It is in this little moments, when I overwhelm myself with trying to find the best deal on the healthy and the organic to feed them with or searching for great resources to teach them with, do I need to stop and trust and pray.
Yes, they won’t be 2 forever. or 3 or 4.
So while I am here, I give myself permission to choose bike rides and puzzles over laundry and unwashed dishes. And yes, I will choose prayer.
Today, I am grateful for the gift of moments with my children.
Saved Today: Priceless
Year To Date: $171.44
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It’s back! Starting Feb. 1st through Feb. 9th, Max’s Las Pinas will be offering Chicken-All-You-Can for only PhP199 between 6-10PM! Make sure you come hungry!
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Little Bear and Little Bee love helping out!
One of the things we loved in the North West is the bountiful produce all year long. I also love how they make it accessible and affordable to families. I don’t remember how I found out, but we get our produce from Bountiful Baskets. Bountiful Baskets is a non-profit food co-op for families that want to have more fresh produce for less money. For as little as $15 each basket, you get a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in season ($50 value)! Plus, you get extra if you show up early to volunteer!
Little Bear choosing our baskets!
We get our baskets every other week. For a family of 4, that’s only roughly $30 a month ($100 value!). Coupons are hard to come by for produce, and even when you buy them from groceries, I found that they don’t last as long as when I get them from the wholesalers.
training the little helpers early!
At times, they also have add-ons like organic 9 grain breads, organic olive oils, and seasonal bulk fruits! We create our menu plan based on what we get in our baskets. They are currently serving about 17 States right now. You may want to check out if there’s Bountiful Baskets site in your state.
Today I am grateful for financial provisions and
healthy, nourished bodies.
Saved Today: $35.00
Year To Date: $171.44
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Little Twos are all set for Winter 2013!
One of the things I do to save is to buy during rock bottom clearance sales. The key is to know when is the best month to buy items! I have known for a time that January is the best time to purchase winter outwear. Hubs and I do not need new coats but the little twos do so I prepare for it.
I was planning on picking up Little Bear’s and Little Bee’s coats from TCP (hoping to find the winter coats for $5.99 just like the last time!) but the winter coats from Old Navy were too cute (and too good a deal!) to pass up!
Original Price: $44.99 each
Clearance Price: $9.74 each
Now you would think that the snow bibs are the matching pair to the coats. Inasmuch as I would like that to be the case, I picked up the snow bibs at Target’s Winter Clearance! Look how perfectly they matched though!
Original Price: $12.99 each
Clearance Price: $4.48 each
This year I didn’t plan for boots, but are we ever ready for the next winter! I picked up the snow boots from Target as well!
Original Price: $17.99 each
Clearance Price: $5.38 each
I was able to create a winter outerwear outfit for little twos for under $20 each which included a coat, snow bib, and boots! Now we only need an awesome Groupon deal to rock these outfits next year!
Little Bear and Little Bee rocking their $5.99 coats I bought 2 years ago!
Today I am grateful for the joy my little twos bring to our family!
Saved Today: $112.74
Year to Date: $136.44
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Hi there! I am The Frugal Nanay, dear wife to my hubby and mom to 2-yr-old twin girls and a lovable Aussie. I am passionate about great deals and frugal life. This blog is a place for me to document our journey as we move forward with living well with less.
