So while I continue to do okay with the Compact, I spent a lot of money this past weekend on kids’ birthday parties/entertainment. We had a bowling birthday party on Saturday (our second recent bowling party) and another birthday party on Sunday at the infamous Funplex, a gigantic birthday party factory of sorts. Seriously, there were like 20 simultaneous parties going on, on two floors. Then on Monday, Presidents’ Day, we had a playdate at the International Skating Center, which has skating plus a bouncy thingy and an enormous enclosed climbing/sliding/playing structure.

Those aren’t my kids. But they’re in there somewhere.

So that was two gifts to buy plus the admission to the ISC, plus treats later to placate my oldest, who has nut allergies and couldn’t have the cake at either party, plus coffee for me to keep me going. Grand total was at least $100. I guess that’s not bad for a long weekend, plus you figure we were fed lunch at the parties. We really had a lot of fun at all three events. I feel as though I should try to be more frugal about birthday gifts, but as I’ve said before I don’t feel comfortable giving used stuff to other people. If I hadn’t been rushing, I could have used a Target gift card I have sitting around to pay for the one gift we bought.

I think what irks me the most is that I bought a gift bag and tissue paper at Target for the Sunday morning party, on our way there, when I know I have approximately 32 birthday gift bags hoarded away at home. If I had planned ahead that wouldn’t have happened. I don’t know why, but I always let these birthday parties sneak up on me and then I’m running around at the last second trying to get a sitter for whoever is not invited, a gift, a card, etc.

Now I have that line from Rocky in my head, where he’s shaking a guy down for money in the beginning: “You shoulda planned ahead!”

In other news, I also completed my hat trick of throw pillows: