My baby is turning 7

Tomorrow my youngest, Maeghan, will be turning 7. I can't believe how quickly the last 7 years have flown by. Seven years ago, tonight, I was packing my bag, knowing that the next day I would be induced into labor. It was a very hot night, I was miserable and just wanted it to end. Now, 7 years later, I don't even know what happened to those years. It is a mystery.

But, on to frugal thoughts. Even with birthdays, I find ways to save money. Maeghan always makes that very easy for us. She is easy to please, preferring the simple pleasures in life, with one exception. She has a NinetendoDS, I know, how does that daughter of a frugal mother get something like that? The answer is her father loves technology of all kinds, and he isn't as frugal as I am. All she wants is DS games. So, I bought her 2 this year. One full price and one on sale. I paid $53.00 for the games. I wanted to get her one more thing. So, while at Kohl's today I found at Scene It High School Musical 3 game on sale for $12.00 and I had a $5.00 off coupon. I am proud to say that I spent $60.00 total on her birthday gifts. I bought her what she wanted, she will be happy and it didn't bust the budget.

Her birthday dinner request is also very cheap and easy to make. She loves a dish called Broccoli Pasta. The cost to make this meal is probably no more than $5.00 total and it is her favorite dish. I will be happy to post the recipe if anyone would like me to. She requested an ice cream cake with a chocolate crust and mint ice cream. So, I bought an Oreo Premade Crust for $1.80 and a half gallon of ice cream. She is getting ice cream pie for her birthday. The requested ingredients with a different shape. She is excited about her pie.

Finally, she wants to go to the Milwaukee Art Museum after having lunch at her dad's office. We are members of the museum, so admission is free. Her favorite thing to do there is to go on an art scavenger hunt that is set up for the kids. Our art museum is really very kid friendly, all 3 of my kids enjoy visiting it often. Lunch in my husbands cafeteria will be at a reduced rate.

We will end her birthday, at home, watching the movie Surf's Up, as a family. I ordered the movie from Netflix.

I sometimes feel guilty for maintaining frugality during birthdays. But, I have to remind myself that because I remain frugal most of the time, occasionally we can splurge on something that is expensive. For example, for my daughter's 9th birthday last year, we were able to take her to the Hannah Montana concert on her birthday. She will remember that birthday for the rest of her life. When something like that comes up for the other kids in the future, we will be able to give it to them because we stay frugal.