does happiness and need sometimes win over frugality?

[CerridwenLorelei]

I looked and looked in my own backyard first.
There were two places and several reasons why they will not work for us.
33 miles away (66 roundtrip) is an awesome place ( little gym) the instructors there are FANTASTIC and VERY APish/GD/respectful of kids and treat the kids like individuals.
The ot wanted ds in this if we could. THis visit went better than last time
My kids need a PE type class for several reasons.
The thing that gets me is the gas prices right now. HOwever I do drive over to that area for drs/activities/etc

for what it would have cost for lessons for two with our old piano teacher we get sep-jan for THREE kids ,,,

and it gets me out of the house some ..

wwyd?

[Breathless Wonder]

I'd drive in a heartbeat.

You only have one life, and if something is THAT much better, and not a HUGE fianacial stretch- go for it!

[dziejen]

I too would do it. After all, the reason that we budget and save and try to cut back on day-to-day expenses is so that we can enjoy ourselves and our lives with our kids, right? The drive would be long for me but if you are willing to do it and your kids will love it then I certainly would sign right up!

[Throkmorton]

I would do it. We put DS in preschool programs all the time, even though they are a fair trek.
Could you try and schedule doctor's appointments, etc on the same trip and save some driving?

[CerridwenLorelei]

Throk-yep

the class time is the same time as ds OT. But the OT wants to see him do this so is willing to set us up earlier with enough time to get from one side of town from the other (so it will really be a bit more than 66 but its not hard to get from the children's hospital to the lg)

[srain]

Originally Posted by dziejen

After all, the reason that we budget and save and try to cut back on day-to-day expenses is so that we can enjoy ourselves and our lives with our kids, right?

That's how I feel. I always choose happiness over money, but part of my happiness is not working, so I need to make that happen! I personally wouldn't make your choice- I hate driving, couldn't afford it, and don't like my kids to be stuck in cars for so long either- but if the benefits lean that way for you, do it.

[CerridwenLorelei]

I hate driving too

but sometimes ds will do it
Our kids are used to being in the car for long times-the 33 one way isn't really too bad about 32 minutes. We used to do long road trips when we were camping all over the place even when they were toddlers.
Our hs group and drs and friends are all over in that next town. Two more years before we can get there
I just wish I had found something here that wasn't faith or competition based ..

[CerridwenLorelei]

well we went

I did find something through community ed HERE in town that was a couple of hundred dollars cheaper BUT dh said due to his experience with CE he didn't think the savings would be worth it. And the class here is one instructor with a lot of kids at different levels but all having to do the same thing. LG has SEVERAL instructors and they divide the class up by skill level and work with their strengths and weaknesses. Plus the APish aspect of the instructors. They are REALLy great with the kids. Even when they make a mistake instead of that harsh 'you should be ' thing, they gently encourage them and show them again as many times as they need it.
And it turns out it is less of a drive from the hospital as we thought it would be.
If I can get my rehab (pt/ot) going again, I have a friend or a lady who started doing homeschool MDO that they can stay with while I am there. It will make for a VERY long day in fort worth. 9am-730 PM, but we get everything done in one shot since it is so far.
We are going to go look at a house this weekend that is not exactly where we want to be but it will be closer to some of what we do..