I’m trying to be careful about buying toys and stuff for the boys, but it’s not easy. We got a tax refund this year for the first time ever (which means we have a small emergency fund now, for the first time ever- hooray!), AJ got a bit of a raise… we’re not drowning in extra cash, but we’re doing OK. I’m still keeping a eye on where the money’s going… but sometimes it’s going places that are unfamiliar to me.
We bought a sandbox for the boys yesterday. Even a year ago that would have been a huge purchase- that’s why we didn’t have one. Yesterday we just went to Wal-Mart and picked one up. It means that that money won’t be going to our savings account or toward debt repayment, but that’s OK one in a while. What I want to avoid is buying them stuff just because we can. I don’t want to try to make up for the years when we couldn’t buy them new toys, in part because it’s not necessary, but also because they were great years, even without lots of new stuff. They’ve always been clothed and fed and loved.
I’d like for the boys to remember that they can be happy without STUFF.
That said, the sandbox is SUPER fun. 
