Just sent a free Evite to our family and friends for our son’s second birthday.  We debated not doing anything at all other than cake at home with just mom, dad, Grandma and Grandpa.  We decided on a birthday party at a free public park with free entertainment in the form of playscapes and learning centers. Scheduling it mid-afternoon, right after nap time, means: no expensive food to buy. A bonus to the public location? No one will bat an eye at the absence of beer. The kids will run around in the fresh air and adults will gossip or take pictures.  No muss, no fuss, no reservation fees or security deposits.  No mediocre-tasting Chucky-Cheese pizza to buy or kid-friendly spread to prepare.  Just cake and ice cream in the park with friends.

We didn’t have the money candy this year so we locked up the house early and trick-or-treated with our toddler in a different neighborhood. This little niche of suburbia really went all out – people openly admitting to spending $200 plus on candy only to have it gone in two hours. Two different houses had their garages tricked out to be haunted houses and one place had rented a bounce house for their front yard! Normally I might feel a tad guilty for getting without giving, but our toddler doesn’t yet understand the trick or treating concept. We could only get him to walk up to 3 front doors and the rest of the time he just kept staring and pointing in excitement at things like a giant Spiderman. (worn by some other kid’s dad of course)

In other news, our recent trip to Ukraine followed by significant water damage to our cabinets and floors has put our family finances severely into the red. We are just starting to make a plan that will get us back to normal. It involves attempting to do enough of the work ourselves that we don’t burn through ALL the insurance money. You know you’re living paycheck to paycheck when you contemplate putting the deductible on credit.