Preston and I enjoyed a great morning together at home, yesterday!
First, the Easter Bunny came and brought some fabulous new treats...
tricycle {$43.97}
shiny new tricycle horn {$4.97}
flip-flops {$2.50}
animal lacing cards {$5}
play dough {$1.50}
farm animal memory game {$10}
bubbles {$.97}
jellybeans {$1.97}
tractor shaped sidewalk chalk {$5.95}
a pair of shorts {$8}
his first fake tattoos {$1.97}
Total = less than $87
But keep in mind, this mommy starts early {like late January}. That way, my wallet doesn't feel the impact at once. Plus, I try to stick primarily to things he needs and that I should buy anyway. For example, this year he needed sandals and shorts and a bike. I plan ahead, make my list and watch for deals. Then, I purchase and collect!
You'll also discover I'm not a fan of stuffed animals or trinkets and "junk toys". I'm the mean mom that throws the fast food toy away before we leave the restaurant...
My point is that I try to stay away from the small unnecessary things and stick to the educational or activity-based toys {bubbles, chalk, play dough, books, games, etc}. I also stay away from all "noise makers" and never buy a toy that requires batteries. This saves my wallet and keeps his hands busy and imagination flowing!
We also live in a small house and Preston's bedroom must act as both sleep and "play room". I can't clutter it up, so each of my purchases are carefully planned. He gets only ONE of everything {excluding books, puzzles and games}. However, those books have a home {and I will purge before the bookshelf overflows}. His puzzles stay in a rack, and it only holds 12 {that's all he'll have at one time}, and his games get neatly stored in his closet.
See where I'm going with this ONE "rule"? The yard isn't cluttered with a zillion outdoor toys and riding toys. His room isn't full of every possible toy car/train track on the market, and he has ONE brand of building/connecting blocks, so I don't have to constantly sort them and find individual homes for each set. He does have a collection of musical instruments that all fit in one case, and he does have a collection of dress-up clothes that all hang in his
dress-up area. A place for everything, and everything in it's place...
Anyway! Next, we got ready for the day, and I "tried" to do a little photo shoot outside...
This was the BEST picture-if you can believe that! All he cared about was getting back on that tricycle.
Photo Details: His Easter basket is from
Pottery Barn Kids, and I bought it his first Easter {he was just over a month old}. I knew I wanted to start traditions and keep the same basket for him to adulthood, so I splurged and opted for something that I felt could withstand the test of time. I'll most definitely save money over time, since it was less than $30, and I won't be buying a brand spankin new container each year. Plus, this adorable thing is made of material and folds up for easy storage!
The bunny ears were props I bought while student teaching back in 2007-before mommyhood.
His clothes were
The Children's Place clearance finds from last May that I've held onto until he grew into them. Pants were $5 and shirt was $3.99.
After the photo shoot, we went to buy Grammy some flowers and headed to my parent's house for dinner. It was a small gathering, but we had an enjoyable time amongst the dust {my parent's are going through a semi major reno}.
After dinner, we went to the park to get the tricycle a little more use {he didn't get off that thing all day and threw a fit to eat}. Then, we went back to my parent's for dessert!
What did YOU do to celebrate the day?
Crystal xoxo
