Pumpkin & Park!

Glen & I baked Pumpkin Pie Bars together this month. It was kind of a big fat FAIL! I'm used to cooking alone so I was all distracted, and I messed up the recipe. We had to make a few substitutions also. The bars turned out just alright, I guess not great because they are still sitting in the refrigerator almost 2 weeks later... haha!

Last week we enjoyed a day or so of warm weather! Caleb & I took advantage of it with a trip to the park. He was not into the park equipment too much, we swung on the swings then we played in the sand volleyball area. We both enjoyed being out in the sun!!

66. Have a baby-free date with Nancy

Nancy & I enjoyed a girl's night out last night! She took me to Olive Garden, where we enjoyed 3 wonderful hours with no babies and lots of quality conversation. Life after babies has (obviously) changed our friendship, it was much needed to have a night to reconnect over wine instead of sippy cups. Nancy & I have been through so much in our 13ish years of friendship. I love you Kitty, I cannot imagine having a better friend by my side :0)

38. Follow a cleaning routine

My original goal was to follow FlyLady's cleaning routine. I love a lot of her philosophies and her site is full of great ways to keep a house free of CHAOS! (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). But I don't like the idea of rushing through my housework. One of her routines is a weekly home blessing hour, in which you clean glass, floors, change sheets, empty trash, vacuum, declutter etc all in one hour. We are blessed with a huge kitchen floor, and it takes me a while to clean it. I enjoy taking my time on my housework and having a satisfying result.

So anyway, I decided to make my own cleaning schedule. Here is what I did:

Sunday: Change sheets
Monday: Laundry, Vacuum, Cut Coupons/Meal Plan, Bathroom
Tuesday: Empty all trash to the street, Scoop Litter Box
Wednesday: Dust, Bathroom, Sweep/Mop
Thursday: Litter box, laundry, grocery shopping
Friday: Vacuum, Dust, Kitchen
Saturday: Litter box, Bathroom, Sweep

I didn't follow it all 100%, but I love having a calendar to look at. I keep it posted on the side of my fridge and it helps keep me on task. It breaks up the chores to manageable tasks each day around my personal schedule, and keeps the house free of CHAOS! :)

All of this now goes out the window - I started back at work fulltime this week! Its time for me to find a new routine for our new busy lives.

20. Get a pedicure

Caleb stayed with my sister the week after Christmas. I worked most of the week, but had a "free" day on Thursday. I got my hair cut, enjoyed a Starbucks Peppermint Mocha (YUMMMM), did some shopping and splurged on a pedicure. One of my best friend's wedding was on New Year's Eve, so it was a good time to get all done up!

I need to get pedicures more often. It was SOO relaxing!!

Here's my new hair cut! I'll save you from seeing a picture of my toes...lol.

ETA: I got BRIGHT purple toes! (And fingernails too!)