this wasn't in the plan |but life is still pretty good

It's been one heck of a week, and I'm very happy that the weekend is upon us. As a stay-at-home mom, my weekends don't differ all that much from the weekdays, but at least I get reinforcements when Daddy is home.

The Festival of Frugality was hosted this week at Mrs. Micah. My post on budgeting was included, and so were these great ones:

• Challenging Assumptions at Frugal Homemaker Plus: She brings up a good point about making sure that you really are getting the best deal as opposed to just thinking you are.
• Am I Being Cheap? at Poorer Than You: Another great article about where to draw the line between cheapness and frugality.
• American Girl: Not Frugal at All (or What a Smile is Worth) at Free from Broke: Sometimes you've just got to splurge, and an American Girl Doll is a good splurge (at least I'm glad my parents got me one long ago!)
  

The Carnival of Money Stories was hosted at Being Frugal. My post on maintaining a balance was included. Be sure to also check out these great entries:

• I Love Lucy Frugality at Dollar Frugal: This is such a fun read, I know I've sometimes done some strange things in order to save money.
• Not Keeping Up With the Jones Jrs. at Unclaimed Money: Her son didn't get what he originally wanted for Christmas, but he was still happy, imagine that!
  

Here are some other posts that are worth a look-see:

Save Money by Using Homemade Cleaning Products at Being Frugal
Count Your Blessings at Remodeling This Life
An Inspiring Walk Through a Furniture Store at Sense to Save