What to do with two kids and only 20 bucks? Ask guest blogger Sugar Mama!

When the metal detector I ordered online arrived last week, my kids tore open the box, but then scoffed at going to the park to test it out. "We can try it out right here, Mom! Right NOW."

You mean I can skip sitting on the park bench watching you fight over a beer bottle cap, wishing I had charged my cell phone?

"You got it," I said, and the kids headed straight for the couch cushions. "Anything you find, I get half!" I called after them. But my words were immediately swallowed by the "Bloop! Bloop!" of their new metal-detecting friend, whom they had curiously named Jerry.

"Mom! I found a nickel from 1999!" My five-year-old screamed within seconds of couch prospecting.

"Wow, that was before you were born, honey."

"Ooooh, from the olden days..." he said dreamily. Just then, my three-year-old presented me with an almost petrified, wrapped-up piece of chewed Juicy Fruit and announced, "Mommy! A silver nugget!"

And the rush was on. The budding scavengers were mining for the mother lode now. Screws! Bobby pins! More gum wrappers! Even the occasional penny!

By the end of the afternoon, my little pirates had a treasure chest's worth of shiny loot...and I'd gotten my house cleaned. Thanks, Jerry!

What I spent: $24.99 plus shipping (okay, so I went a little over $20 on this one, but those found pennies added up!).