First, check off "get something sweet for their dad" off your list: 
One of my daughter's dearest friends blogged today about choosing to stay home with her firstborn. Congrats! Check her story out:
http://www.hellohappinessblog.com/2012/05/change-for-bettermy-new-career.html?m=1
I nostalgically remember the easy ways to save money when I was at home. I joined the local church's moms support group, where simplicity for sanity's sake was celebrated. A group of moms developed a moms/children interactive playgroup based on some pre-school curricula, which served as a fun alternative to mothers-day-out. And the all-important co-op minimized my spending money on the tennis league experience (with the appropriate clothing), and the children spent those mornings with moms who were likely much smarter than I--physicians' wives, gals whose husbands were wrapping up their doctorate work at UT . . .
I was fortunate that I had a boy first, then a girl. She didn't look bad in the hand-me-downs of denim overalls and striped T-shirts, but it would have not gone well the other way around.
When I was an at-home mom, grocery stores had yet to adopt electronic payments as department stores and restaurants, so those time-consuming checks had to be written out. Some items, including coupons, were not bar-coded, therefore requiring the naked eye to check on prices and expiration dates. Stores rarely doubled coupons; and when they did, the manual review made the lines as long as the modern Black Friday's.
And yet, my journal shows that I saved more than $1,100 in 1987.
I recently read about some SAHMs who elevated their couponing experience. "Fabulessly Frugal’s annual revenues currently hover in the low six-figures. Yoder and Knight each take home a five-figure salary and employ 13 other women part time."
Learn more: http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/2012/05/learn-how-the-blog-stared-in-the-ny-times-magazine.html
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