Several years (and two kids) ago, our family joined the YMCA. It sounded like a fun place to be, and that getting free & cheap classes for the kids might be a more affordable option than park and recreation sports, and well, everybody else was doing it.
Let me tell you - this is one time that I’m really glad I followed the crowd! When I tell people that the YMCA saved our lives, I’m not really joking! It certainly has saved our sanity over the years, as our family has grown.
Number one lifesaver: free childcare. 2 hours of free childcare. As in, I could stand in the steaming hot shower for 2 uninterrupted hours if I wanted to. Or exercise. Or read a book. Or do absolutely. nothing. at. all. Need I say more?
The free kids classes have been a biggie for us, too, which were included in our membership fees. Community education or park and recs sports can be a great option, but I found that with several children, it ended up being cost prohibitive, made my schedule extra crazy, and it was difficult to do with a sometimes-cranky toddler (or two, or three …) in tow. Again: free childcare.
The opportunity to exercise pretty much whenever it’s convenient for me, knowing that there’s great options for each of my kids while we’re there, well, what more could I ask for? The frequent (free) fun family activities or use of the pool with the kids - it’s just the kind of thing to help bring our family together, keeping us healthy and connected to each other.
In all honesty, I am a YMCA employee…but I was a member first. It’s been an ideal place for us to participate as a family as well as for me to serve the community.
I think that in these tough economic times, aren’t we are all looking for ways to relieve the stress, be budget-savvy and stay connected as a family? At the YMCA we’ve been able to do all this and more.
Check it out!
In a house full of boys there is rarely a day when there is not some kind of mess to clean up. Sharpie/marker/crayon/food smeared on walls, mud caked on the back door, grimey prints along the banister, unidentifiable nastiness on the walls. Magic erasers have saved me countless hours of scrubbing. I mean, what else gets SHARPIE off walls without damaging the walls…or my manicure? So Mr. Clean, I thank you for your valuable contribution to society. I thank you for making it possible for me to hand a two year old an eraser and tell him to clean baseboards…not that I do that or anything.
LaShawn
Frazzled LaShawn
I’m all for de-cluttering my life, but let’s face it: sometimes, a product, book, or website is totally worth buying or bookmarking. On Fridays from now on, we’ll be detailing some of our favorite time-, money-, or life-saving things so we can all share the good stuff. And we’d love for you to chime in and share your Friday Favorites in the comments section. My Friday Favorite? The $5 Dinners blog. When I’m trying to save money on food, like I am right now, it’s easy to fall into the habit of making those old standby cheap meals over and over again. Once in a while, I’d like to spice things up a little…and that’s when I need help from recipes that are all about eating inexpensively AND well. A caveat: the website author has two children, and suggests that the meals may be more like $6 or $7 for a family of five or six. So you could extrapolate that it would easily be up to $9 or $10 for a family of 8 or 9, but I think it depends on the meal…if you’re doubling a lentil recipe, it won’t go up in price as much as if you’re doubling a chicken recipe, right? Also, I know that depending on where you live, some of the ingredients she uses may cost you more. But hey, if you live in an expensive area, you’re already used to spending more money on food. Might as well save all you can! Off to check the sales flyers. That tomato-roasted pork with orzo and squash is sounding pretty good right now…
What product, service, book or website are you loving right now? Please post about it in the comments!