21. Enjoy a Mom’s Night Out 4 times (1/4)

Last Tuesday my friends from my playgroup got together for a baby-free night. This was technically a "night in" because we were at someone's home, as opposed to out at a restaurant. We try to switch things up so we don't have to spend too much money for an evening off! There was a lot of other Moms there, and we all had a blast! Next month there is a night out planned to a Mexican restaurant with .98 margaritas! Now that's very exciting!

84. Take him to a park 50 times (4/50)

Last week Caleb and I spent the morning with Brenda and Elizabeth. We checked out the park in Wilson and had lunch at McDonald's. The 2 kids played hard all morning and were worn out. Caleb slept nearly 3 hours that afternoon! Both kids loved going down the slide, here's my big boy sliding down all by himself!

89. Go pick fruit

Strawberries are in season right now in NC. I have never been strawberry picking and was excited to share my first experience with Caleb. We met Beth & the kids last week in Kinston. Caleb had a great time! He learned how to pick the berries, eat them and even put a few in our basket. You can see pictures of that day on Caleb's blog.

I was sad that Glen missed out on the fun, so we all went on Sunday to Dean's Farm in Wilson. We picked another huge batch of berries, then sat and enjoyed some homemade ice cream.

We've been enjoying all the strawberries. Caleb loves fruit, and strawberries are no exception. He usually eats them plain, but I let him enjoy some with homemade whipped cream - that was a hit too!

I am marking this one completed, but I hope that we will get out and pick more fresh produce in the future!

47. Start a vegetable garden

One of my friends in my Mom's group mentioned she planted a container garden. I had never realized you could do that, and was totally excited by the idea. Glen & I finally made it to Lowe's last week to stock up for my garden.

We bought a few plants (tomato & arctic kiwi) and some seeds (zucchini). I plan to plant potatoes in the last pot, but they didn't have what I needed at Lowe's. I planted the seeds last Sunday, and Monday I was SO excited to see little sprouts coming up. I feel like I did something right! I hope my plants continue to grow and produce some veggies for us!!

I have some irises planted too. The pots are all scrounged up from my Mother in law's yard, I hope to upgrade to prettier ones someday.

63. Have 3 baby-free weekends (1/3)

Caleb spent his first weekend away from home with Grandma & Grandpa. He had a great time, you can see pictures of his adventures here. Glen & I enjoyed our down time. We ate out, wandered through Best Buy and slept in!! On Saturday we took a drive out to Goldsboro and hiked at the Cliffs of Neuse. It was fun to get out and hike, something we haven't done in ages. (and if you ever go there, BEWARE OF THE ANTS!)

Visited a (not so scary) park

84. Take him to a park 50 times (3/50)
There is a park down the road from us that I have always found shady. I often pass it after dark driving home from work, and there are cars there. I decided it's a shady place because why are there cars there at night? There are not any sport fields, nothing exciting to do in the dark. Just a playground. But during the day I always see families and kids playing, so I finally decided to check it out. I was pleasantly surprised! We didn't find any drug paraphernalia or used condoms. =)

Caleb really liked this park. He was able to get up to the top of the climber and slide down by himself. There was also a merry-go-round he loved! I think we'll definitely come by here again.

Bread, books & pasta - oh my!

16. Read 50 books (1/50)
I'm trying to read through my library book sale stash. I have at least 6 books I bought over a year ago and haven't touched yet. Last week I read Johnny Angel by Danielle Steel. It was a short book and was a fun way to enjoy the afternoon while Caleb was away.

29. Bake something once a month for a whole year (1/12)
While Caleb was away at Grandma's for the weekend, the bananas sat on the counter getting a little too ripe. I love a good loaf of banana bread, so on Monday morning Caleb & I made up a loaf. I've made this recipe several times, it's easy and tastes great. (especially spread with butter!) This is my first month baking, I hope to keep it up for the next 11 months!

18. Try 25 new recipes (2/25)
I tried out a recipe for Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti the other night. It was alright, I will probably not make it again. The recipe was easy enough, but the pasta absorbed the sauce and made the dish dry. I used whole wheat pasta, maybe it would be better with regular pasta. The first night we had it you could not taste the buffalo flavor at all. I made a 2nd batch of sauce to pour on top when we had leftovers, and I still was not that impressed. I love trying new pasta recipes, but this will not be part of our regular menus.

18. Try 25 new recipes (1/25)

I love trying new recipes. I follow a bunch of food blogs and am constantly "starring" new recipes in my Google Reader. I am lucky to have a husband who enjoys a variety of foods and is never afraid to try something new. Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo and one of my favorite blogs posted a long list of Mexican inspired recipes. I couldn't resist trying this one, Taco Meatloaf Patties. I had everything we needed in our pantry and we love Mexican foods.


I didn't make the Mac & Cheese from the post, because we were out of elbow noodles and butter. (How can I possibly be out of butter?!) I made a side dish of mexican cheesy rice - brown rice mixed with salsa and cheese. We also had corn.

So the result, overall a great dinner. The meatloaf patties were too salty. The recipe called for 2t of salt, which is a lot and if I had been thinking I would not have added it all. However, I didn't add all the chili powder because Glen doesn't like super spicy foods. Maybe the spice would have offset the salty taste. But all of us (even Caleb!) enjoyed dinner and I was able to make up 4 lunches for Glen to take to work.

April Update

The month of April has come and gone! Although I started this challenge just a week ago, I have a few things to check off!
26. Go out shopping without Caleb, just for fun.
Yesterday I met my mom & sister in Raleigh for lunch. After lunch, I sent Caleb home with Grandma for the weekend. That left me all alone with nothing to do, for the first time in a very, very long time! I spent some time wandering around Goodwill and then checking out Around Again Consignment's new location. I tried on a bunch of clothes at both stores and bought a black skirt and a blouse. (And overalls for Caleb, who could resist?!) I had a really fun time! 84. Take him to a park 50 times (2/50)
Caleb & I went to the park twice since I started my challenge. We met Andrea & Nathan at Anderson Point Park. We also met our play group at the Toddler Park near Brier Creek.