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I guess it was only a matter of time, being that my child is getting older. I knew eventually, we would start venturing out of the house, to events targeted for children. I had performed the calculations in my head, as to how much it costs to partake in children’s entertainment events. Boy oh boy did I get a wake-up call when we went to the circus a couple of weekends ago. Similar to an unplanned work lunch, not budgeting for “fun with the kids” can potentially bust your budget. Take a look at what it could cost you to go to the circus:
- Tickets were roughly $30/person.
- A box of popcorn, similar in size to a small box of cereal, was $8.
- Cotton candy, yeah, that’ll run you $12.
- Various light-up toys…anywhere from $10 to $25.
- Flavored, shaved ice in a “collector’s cup”, $10 friggin dollars!
Now, I only have one child and, even though she may want every toy she sees, it doesn’t work that way. We did get her one light up toy. The three of us munched off of one box of popcorn and a bag of cotton candy (I wanted to see how she reacted to cotton candy).
Seeing as how the circus was held in the arena where our basketball team plays, the regular concession menu is available as well (hot dogs, nachos, etc). I have no idea how much other items cost (like shirts or pictures) b/c I was quick to avoid those booths. But, can you imagine the total if you had say, 2 kids? How about 3? And, what if these were older kids that could put a dent into some popcorn, or a hot dog? Jeez!
I think in the end, it’s okay to have a good time and partake in some of the extras but, it makes sense to plan for these ahead of time. I plan on making a “children’s entertainment” fund/jar, where I’ll throw a few dollars into and let it build up. We don’t go out a lot (her first time going to the movies was to see The Lorax…I think I had more fun than she did) so, I have time to build this up before she really starts getting interested in going places. Right now, she’s content to go outside in the backyard and run around while I do yard work!
Here’s last week’s meal plan and how I did:
Wednesday
- Lunch: Salad and a Healthy Choice meal. Done. I ended up taking off from work this day so, I still kept with my microwave dinner and made the salad.
- Dinner: Not sure, going to MILs house. Not Exactly. We didn’t end up going to my MIL’s house. One of the grandkids had a stomach bug so, we decided not to chance it. We took advantage of the Dominoes pizza special and Pizza Hut wing special instead.
Thursday
- Lunch: frozen (the steam variety) and a Healthy Choice meal. Done
- Dinner: Rotisserie chicken, stuffing, green beans. Fail. I keep going back and forth with “Do I want to cook the chicken, which requires sitting in the refrigerator for a few days or…should I just go and buy a $7 rotisserie chicken, ready to eat, from the grocery store?” You see I haven’t made a decision yet on this.
Friday
- Lunch: Salad and a Healthy Choice meal. Fail. Didn’t bring the dinner. Instead, went to Subway and got a ham and turkey sub.
- Dinner: Salmon, yellow rice. Done. I had a really good workout during lunch at work. When this happens, I usually want to continue eating light for the rest of the day. Salmon and yellow rice made for a good “end of the day meal”, especially after putting in a few hours worth of yard work when I came home. Raking up dead grass and leaves is hard work (but I secretly love it)!
Saturday
- Lunch: I ended up making a pork chop sandwich (throwing the last pork chop between two slices of bread) to fuel me while I cooked dinner for the weekend and upcoming week.
- Dinner: Fried chicken wings, macaroni and cheese, collard greens.
Sunday
- Lunch: We have started doing a big breakfast after church, so big that it usually turns into brunch (followed by a nice afternoon nap). Pancakes, hash browns, scrambled eggs w/ cheese, and bacon.
- Dinner: Pot roast, complete with potatoes, carrots, and celery…mmm, mmm good!
The good thing about this past week is that I made the decision (followed by action) to cook dinner for the week ahead of time. So, this should provide some really good results for the upcoming week’s meal plan.
This week’s meal plan:
Monday
- Lunch: Healthy Choice meal, frozen vegetable (steam variety).
- Dinner: Either pot roast or white chicken chili that was cooked this weekend.
Tuesday
- Lunch: Healthy Choice meal, frozen vegetable (steam variety)
- Dinner: Either pot roast or white chicken chili that was cooked this weekend.
Wednesday
- Lunch: Healthy Choice meal, frozen vegetable (steam variety).
- Dinner: Chinese food..it’s been a while and this will be a nice change up.
Thursday
- Lunch: Healthy Choice meal, frozen vegetable (steam variety)
- Dinner: Rotisserie chicken from the grocery store to accompany the macaroni n cheese and collard greens cooked that weekend.
Friday
- Lunch: We’ll be on a marriage retreat with our church so, I’m off the hook for lunch and dinner today!
