Mommin On a Budget! A personal blog entry from one tired Motha! 

I wanted to start my first personal blog post out on a more helpful, Mom related topic for budget friendly things to do this summer in our area. I did do that, but to get there I had to talk alot about some off the topic things! 

 Como Town in St. Paul Minnesota a must stop for parents looking for budget friendly things to do this summer with your kids! Man that was a mouth full! I am not the best writer grammatically so bare with me! I think this is why I never started this sooner. Many times I told myself to just do it and some how would back out. 

So here goes nothing.

Yesterday I took my girls down to Como Town at the Como Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul! I say down because for my family it's an hour drive south for us! For me it's well worth the trip because Como is a place I hold very dear to my heart! My family is originally from the twin cities, specifically N Minneapolis. Grandma still lives off of 49th and Newton! The entire family would get up at 3am to ride down to Grannies with Dad every morning as I got older and my siblings began school I did that ride just him and I. As he worked for the Minneapolis parks and recs board through the City of Minneapolis. So did my Grandpa and a few of my uncles. That's another blog post I hope to work on soon! I've been going to the Como Zoo since I've been a baby and of course elementary school field trips, we've spent numerous Mother's day at the park and now currently my brother and his family live just a few blocks away. My aunt who lives with my grannie also brought us all the time in the summer because she was our primary daycare. We would often frequent the arboretum and Japanese flower gardens when the weather was good. I would be surprised if you have lived in Minnesota for any length of time and haven't made the stop yet. I heard on the radio the day before it was suppose to be one of the top 10 weather days here in Minnesota! If you're from here you take advantage when the getting is good! This Mama doesn't mess around! We wait all winter for this! Tuesday I only had the energy to do Como Town, me plus a 4 almost 5 year old, a 2 almost 3 year old and 1.5 year old. I will admit having my kids on top of one another was not well thought out. It's incredibly challenging to give each child the same exact amount of time they need from you. When their needs right now are often so much. My girls are constantly calling on their Mama for so much. Trying to divide my time equally constantly drains me spiritually and emotionally. I don't feel bad saying that. That is the honest truth, if you want some sugar coded Mom crap you will need to find another blog. Photo below of the three beautiful draining angel babies I call my own! 

I will also admit that when I got my oldest and middle two finally on a ride I didn't expect my youngest to have a full out fit about not being able to join them. I thought her little mind would just be blown and enjoy the stroller. NOPE. I nearly panicked. Youngest was screaming fire from her lungs, totally not like her. The other two looked like they hated the tea cup ride I had placed them on. Both being disappointed they couldn't be on a bigger kid ride. Like the roller coasters! Next time I will bring another adult with me, I think going on a Saturday or Sunday with my husband would be ideal. But then again he probably won't want to go because he travels the state all week. The constant dilelma in our house hold. I want to go, go , go and my husband loves to do the Homer Simpson on the weekends. My oldest could have been on a taller ride but there was no way I was placing one here and there. I quickly scanned the park to figure a better solution for us and I could see the the Hodge Podge Splash Park! 

For some reason I packed the girls swimsuits and swim jackets. I had this plan on the way home to stop and cool off at a splash pad. I kinda also remembered there being a splash pad at Como Town but I wasn't a hundred percent sure. I am just glad I packed them because we went straight to the truck and changed! I wish I was the Mom who had the weeks planned out, the items laid perfectly out the night before. That's just not me. I'm slightly organized wrapped in one fly by the seat of my pant decision to the next.

By the time we got back to como town from changing in the truck another reason I love the back of our Suburban. (There is a bathroom right as you get into como town off to the right, we used it right as we got there and I struggled to get the stroller in and out.) There was a foam party started right outside of the splash park included with music. The girls went nuts! I parked our stroller outside of the park as many other parents did. I would recommend a backpack styled bag to take with you for the day. Also my two older girls swimsuits are from Walmart on the clearance rack and my youngest daughters suit is from Marshals. I always shop the year before for my kids at the clearance section both at Walmart and Target. I am happy Monticello now has a Marshal Fields. Her little purple pineapple and tutu suit was only $7.99.

Some essentials I put in my bag 

Pampers swim diapers! 

Babyganics sunscreen SPF 50  

More pampers diapers, we are diaper snobs in this house and I'm not afraid to say it!

Snacks & beverages from Aldi in a cooler bag from Walmart! We are currently working on growing our very first garden but until then we love to hit up Aldi and have been able to cut our grocery bill in half. 

I also packed my House of Flynn camera/diaper bag. If you have not heard of HOF yet please do so now! https://www.thehouseofflynn.com/

I made a large investment into my camera gear and I need a bag that will keep my other baby safe. That bag can hold alot! Including my laptop! 

I am a huge fan of amazon and that is where I purchased my double jogger stroller which is now unavailable on amazon and walmart.com. But lately I am finding much better deals on Walmart.com and they always have free shipping. I have a prime membership and I am thinking maybe it's just not worth it since Walmart does such a good job at competitive pricing. Also I am currently looking for a double stroller that is not a side by side. I wouldn't get another one because they are difficult to get through any type of doorway. All 4 kids in Monticello is my go to place for all kid things related. A second hand shop and they also except items in to purchase. They have relocated but are still in Monti I will post their FB page link for the most recent photos https://www.facebook.com/All4KidsMN/ and here is the website http://www.all4kidsmn.com/ I have brought plenty of items in as the kids grew and was really happy with my return. I would much rather try to bring items in here over Goodwill. The owner is pretty particular on what she takes in which makes me happy as a customer. I have struck out more times than I can count on FB garage sale sites that I could cringe for even trying. When I could just go here! I do love me a good garage sale though and my husband loves them even more! 

Also, I love my little striped diaper bag from Target! It's super comfy on my arm and holds a ton of stuff! As a mom of three I need that!  

I like to always park in the Wolf and Tiger lots because they always seem to have parking and it's nice and close to the sidewalk to get you where you want to go. They also have street parking and you can park closer to the entrance of Zoo and Arboretum. I typically like to park closer to Como Town. Parking is free and so is admission. We spent more in gas on our way down than we did at the park. We save on gas by using our Foley Falcon football fundraising cards. Sold by the Foley school, Cyle's Mom works at the school so we just purchase those from her. 10 cents off a gallon of gas at any participating Holiday gas station stores! Along with a ton of other non gas related items and stores! 

At the entrance they only ask for donation and give you a donation suggestion for each person. They also have a big gift shop which I typically avoid for fiscal reasons! 

Como Zoo actually started in 1897 when St. Paul was gifted 3 deer and needed some where fenced off to put them! I thought that was pretty cool seeing as how Como has been a pioneer in it's class. 

here is a link to read more fascinating facts on Como! 

http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/minnesota/como-zoo-mn/