And we're done!

My 1001 days have ended. My little blog was neglected over the Holidays, so let me update a few goals!

16. Read 50 books (40/50) 
I read the "Wolves of Mercy Falls" trilogy over Christmas. These were really good! It is a young adult series, a love story about a boy & a girl, shape shifting wolves, really captivating! I would definitely read more books by this author. 

51. Steam clean the carpets - Complete
I snagged a basic steam cleaner off Craigslist for $15. It did a pretty good job and it was easier than I expected. I still would like to get our carpets professionally cleaned. A preschooler, 2 cats and a dog + extra kids/dogs visiting = a lot of wear on our rugs! 

52. Hang curtains in the living room & bedroom (Half complete) 

I hung up curtains in our living room. That was actually the first time I've ever had curtains:) I love them, it really adds an extra something to our space. We didn't find perfect curtains for our bedroom yet...but I'm looking. You can see a bit of my living room curtains behind my adorable boys ------> 

55. Assemble first aid kits to put into both cars - Complete
I didn't actually ASSEMBLE first aid kits, but I bought them at Target! I put them in each vehicle & thankfullly haven't needed them yet. I'm sure it will be useful for skinned knees at the park this summer! 

59. Pay off credit card debt - Complete
I'm calling this complete because we are in a debt consolidation program, and have been successful on it for 18 months. In summer 2014, we will be debt free except for student loans. Credit card bills were previously running our lives, and it has made a huge impact on our lives since consolidation. We are completely credit card free & I love it! 

76. Cook tacos for Glen 
This probably seems rather random to most people. Glen grew up eating Mexican food, which his mom cooked with her own unique twist. I rarely cook Mexican because it's constantly being compared. His mom makes really yummy tacos, frying each prestuffed corn tortilla individually. I made up a batch for dinner one night, and they were "just as good as moms..." but really better! :D 

So that is that. I'm going to post a separate update tallying my goals and my thoughts on this challenge! 

Jordan Lake

3. Go camping 4 times (4/4) COMPLETE! 


We went camping at Jordan Lake for the first weekend in October. It was our first experience at Jordan Lake, and overall we really liked it. We had a lake front site so we could walk right down for a swim. This was great with a preschooler. Glen & I took turns swimming with Caleb so the other could cook/clean. 

 Jordan Lake is beautiful. We drove to the dam and saw tons of hawks. There was a nice hiking trail. The nature center at the welcome building was really fascinating and we all enjoyed the displays there. The weekend we were there was their annual Heritage festival so Caleb got to make a corn husk doll, paint with marbles, get his face painted etc. It was a really well put together event. 

Now the part we didn't like about Jordan Lake were the facilities. Glen & I both grew up camping at State Parks so we know what to expect with campground bathrooms. Jordan Lake left a lot to be desired. The "convenience" bathroom had broken faucets, non-functioning hand dryers, no lights at night and did not appear to be tidied up daily. The larger bathroom with the showers had missing doors on the majority of the shower stalls. There were not enough lights to actually see when you were in the shower. When I took a shower, someone had actually taken a dump in one of the stalls. {Needless to say, I took a QUICK shower!} Neither of us were impressed with the way the facilities were maintained, it showed that the park staff/rangers cared little for the park. I'm not sure if the other camping areas were different, but I can camp at Falls Lake without having to worry about that. The rangers at Falls Lake keep their facilities great! 

So that probably concludes our camping until the Spring! We have found a great groove for our camping with a dog & a preschooler - I can't wait until our next trip! 

Pixar "Up" Party

I've been meaning to post this, since..February! Haha. Caleb is now 3.5 so let's say this post is in honor of his half birthday:)


I wanted to do something fun & original for Caleb's 3rd birthday. It was his first official party so it was very special to me. Caleb had been obsessed with the movie Up, and I decided it would be a perfect theme. I hit up Google & Pinterest for inspiration, and the best party was created!

The movie Up is about Mr. Frederickson - who uses balloons to fly his home to Paradise Falls. I blew up balloons and used a needle/thread to string them together. I criss-crossed them across the ceiling


.

Disney has these AWESOME printables available on their site. I printed them out at Office Max, and enlisted the help of my husband to assemble them. They were A LOT of work! There is a lot of small cuts and folds, but the end result was so worth it! We put Russell and Mr. Frederickson on the table, and hung the house above.

I covered the coffee table with easel paper, put out some crayons & birthday stickers. This was a fun activity which stayed on my table for a few weeks!
 

We had the Up soundtrack playing on the TV, with a slideshow of a combination of Caleb's photos & shots from the movie. The cupcakes were my favorite part! I got the idea from Bakerella. I used colored toothpicks to hold the donut holes up. They were just so cute!

Party favors were Up Golden Books which I ordered from Amazon. I tied a balloon around each one. We also gave out Kool-aid playdoh kits (which were leftover from our Valentine's day party!). 








Here are just a few other shots of our party!

75. Host a theme party - Complete!! 

Getting my sport on!

We are spending this weekend at my parents' house, along with my sister and her kids. Today was a perfect day, starting off with sausage biscuits and coffee, and ending the day with s'mores by the river. I was able to get two checks on my 101 list today!

Catch A Fish -
This morning we went fishing at a local pond. Caleb {with the help of Grandpa} was the first to catch a fish. I kept getting nibbles and sneaky worm stealers, I didn't think I would actually catch one. But I got skillz! I snagged a little sunfish. We had a really fun time fishing!

Go Crabbing -
After an afternoon swimming at Emerald Isle Beach, we went to the Croatan Forest to cookout. While my dad fired up the grill, we hung out on the dock and caught crabs. We used turkey necks and strings. Since we forgot a net, it required a lot of skill to get the crab out of the water! Caroline seemed to be the best at it. I got a blue crab, we saw fish and Earl caught some shrimp. It was super relaxing and just as fun as I remember it from my childhood.

I felt like an accomplished sportsman as we headed home! What a day:)

I'm blogging from my phone so I'll update my sidebar later....

Pullen Park

94. Play at Pullen Park & ride a paddle boat 

First off, I gotta say I had no idea how much work it was to power a paddle boat. It has been years since I was on one! Caleb spent part of our ride "helping" while I sat in the back, so Glen was on his own. I don't know how he had the leg strength for that. Go Glen! :)

Anyway. Glen had an extra day off this week, so we headed over to Pullen Park to enjoy some time together. We rode the carousel, train, kiddie boats & played at the park. We finished up with a ride on the paddle boat. We went around the entire lake & under the bridge. Caleb had a blast seeing all the ducks and turtles up close. 

Wine & Sushi

4. Visit a NC winery 
Yesterday was our 5th wedding anniversary. My mom has Caleb for the weekend, so we took the opportunity to visit Chatham Hill Winery in Morrisville. We did a tour of the winery & saw all the barrels of wine plus their fancy machines. It's actually a rather small place with only a handful of employees, but they produce a lot of wine. I learned that it takes about 3lbs of grapes to make 1 bottle of wine. We got to taste 8 of their wines. I bought a bottle of Peach wine, which is very sweet but it was something different I enjoyed. 

16. Read 50 books (36/50)
This morning I finished reading "The Girls." This was a fiction novel about conjoined twins, written entirely from their perspective. It was a fairly simple story, but the voices in the novel were fascinating, involved & well written. 

45. Update Caleb’s baby book 
Last week I took a few hours & finished updating Caleb's baby book. It had a lot of empty spaces, but most of the information was on his blog. I'm glad to say its finally done! I do have a few more pictures to put in from his 3rd birthday - but that's the easy part! 

31. Try sushi (again) 
For our anniversary dinner, we ordered take-out sushi from ShabaShabu in Raleigh. I've had sushi once before and wasn't a big fan. I definitely felt I had to give it another try. We ordered California roll, tuna roll, bagel roll & salmon roll. I tried all of them. The California roll was my favorite, but I still am not a sushi fan.  I ate a bit, then Glen finished my plate:) Oh well, at least I tried! 

Catching up!

I'm rather behind on posting on my blog. I'm running out of time to complete my goals! I've been rather busy enjoying my summer with my family. But this is what I've accomplished so far!

83. Do 20 art projects with Caleb. (20/20) 

• Last week Caleb & I painted with bubbles. I mixed together paint & bubble mixture in a cake pan. We used a straw to blow bubbles in it, then held our construction paper on top. The bubbles pop on the paper making an interesting effect. It was fun making the bubbles, but overall a disappointing project. Maybe my mixture wasn't strong enough - or our color wasn't bright enough. Worth revisiting in the future. 
• Earlier in the Spring, Caleb made robin foot art. He LOVES painting with his feet. This was one of the first projects that he really added his own embellishments. The pictures above show the robin Caleb did all by himself, and the one I put the touches on:) I love both of them! 

64. Buy a present for Glen just because 

• This summer Kangaroo Express (the local gas station/convenience store) is selling Roo Cups. The cups are $7 and you can refill them all summer long with slushies & soda for .25! I thought this would be a fun treat for Glen. I reserved the cup on their website, and hurried in to snag my cup. (Last summer they sold out in a flash!) Caleb & I made a trip to the bank to withdraw $10 in quarters. I surprised Glen with a roll of quarters & his very own Roo Cup. He has been enjoying stopping on his way home from work! Sometimes Caleb & I snag his cup and share a slushie too:) 

44. Rearrange and hang wall art/family pictures

I wrote this goal when we were living in Wilson. In our home there I had a big pile of frames that were "homeless" sitting behind our couch. Since moving to Raleigh, I've found homes on our walls for all of our art & photos. Our immediate family is featured in the living room, extended family along the hall and there is a mix of art/photos in our bedrooms. Recently I moved Caleb's toys into his bedroom - leaving a huge empty wall space in our living room. I moved some frames around & created an art line to display Caleb's crafts. I love it! The large family picture is from our Spring shoot with Melissa Berg Photography. I plan on updating at least 1 of the 2 frames on this wall with Caleb's 3 year pictures. I gotta get on that! 

30. Wear a dress/skirt everyday for a week 

• I adore wearing skirts in the summer. It is cool, light & makes me feel very feminine. I started out July wearing only skirts/dresses, and have not worn much else this month. I snagged some skirts at a great sale at Belk earlier this season - so I have a decent selection. 

16. Read 50 books (35/50) 

• Last month I read "The Girl who Played with Fire." It was an amazing read. I was amazed at the detail & complexity of the novel. I've started reading "The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" but have been lacking momentum on finishing it. 

98. Accomplish something noteworthy that wasn’t on my list 

I've been pondering on what I would do to consider this goal complete. I think this is a pretty good choice. Glen & I became foster dog parents last week! A friend of mine in GA had posted on her Facebook about a neglected pup who needed a foster home. Glen & I talked about it and decided to take on the task. Joey came to us after living in a small outdoor pen for years. He has never lived in a home, enjoyed belly rubs or taken a walk. He has been great with us so far - he's already house trained, and is learning basic commands. I'm excited to work with local rescues to find Joey's forever home. Joey does have heartworm, and may have some other health issues pop up. You can read more about his story & contribute to his health care here. 

40. Record every $ spent and categorize it

Glen & I keep track of our income and expenses via Quicken. I cannot speak highly enough about it. It tracks all of our projected finances, so we can make the right decision today about whether or not to make a purchase. I love using it! One of the features I like is the categories. Each transaction is sorted so we can easily see where our money went.

I thought this would be a great month to do a detailed look at our money. My current job is moving, and I will be unemployed for a large part of the summer. My income allows us to live a little more comfortably. I want us to be able to enjoy the summer - camping, beach, the zoo, etc! We will be keeping a close eye on spending so we can afford the fun stuff.

Here is our spending chart for April. There are a few areas I can see we need to focus on heading into the summer.

• Auto was 13% of our income, which for April totals $457!!! Eesh, that is a lot of money on gas. ($30 of that was for service). My new nephew, Ethan was born in April. That equaled a separate trip for myself & Glen to visit family. I also took a day to visit later in the month. Each visit to my parents is about 250 miles round trip, plus a trip to town from their home is 40 miles round trip. My car gets about 20 miles to the gallon, so a trip to visit costs approximately $50. But they are so worth it :D
• Household is a broad category term. Pretty much anything I spend at Target is "household." We all know a trip to Target for diapers ends up including a few extras. This month Glen received a bonus at work, so we used some of that money to purchase new clothes, and stock up on household basics (dog food, trash bags, etc.) We normally do not spend that much in that area. 
• Pet care was extra expensive this month. I let the flea protection on Taffy (our dog) expire and fleas invaded our home. The fleas themselves were not hard to get rid of, but they tore up our poor cat Asia. Apparently fleas prefer cats, and she has long hair that they loved. :( We had to take her to the vet to get her skin cared for. This is an out of the ordinary expense, but to be expected with pets...

Overall I wasn't surprised by our spending. There are always "unplanned" things that pop up, whether it be a vet appointment or car repair. Glen & I are interested to see how we will manage this summer on one income. We will be making cuts in areas such as those extra trips to Target, and avoiding the drive-thru so we can enjoy the memorable luxuries like a day trip to the beach! 

Blueberry Belches

61. Have ten date nights (10/10) COMPLETE!

My parents surprised us on Friday by taking Caleb for the night. He got to swim at their hotel, go to the zoo and have a fun trip with Grandma.

Glen & I took advantage of our kid free evening to go see The Hunger Games! Woot! We both really enjoyed the novels, and the movie didn't disappoint. After the movie, we walked over to the Lynnwood Grill for their "Garbage Pizza" and a few beers. The beer special was Sweetwater Blue which is a light beer with a hint of blueberry. It was SO good. Glen didn't even mind when I belched in his face - it smelled like blueberries! BWAHAHA!

We finished the evening with a stroll through Target and snagged some clearance. Clothes shopping without a todder = priceless.

January Roundup!

34. No eating out (for 30 days)
YAY! We decided January would be a month for no eating out. Our only planned exceptions were for date night. We actually ate out once, while traveling to my parent's for a day trip. But I didn't ever run through the drive through, I ensured I ate breakfast before leaving the house. We finished the month by starting a new diet/meal plan. I feel so much healthier, and our wallets are a lot happier. :) 


83. Do 20 art projects with Caleb. (10/20) 
Caleb & I followed this tutorial to make penguin cards. I was attempting to make black paint, but ended up with a lovely shade of purple. So we made purple penguins! Caleb loved making his foot print. He practiced cutting while I made the beaks. Then he used a glue stick to attach it all together. I wrote "Just waddling by..." on the front with a thank you note on the back. CUTE! 


61. Have ten date nights (8/10) 
Glen & I had TWO nights out this month. Can I get a woot woot?! We spent our first night using a Groupon to Buffalo Brothers. I had a really yummy pretzel sandwich burger. Afterwards we went to Verizon to upgrade our cell phones. We ended up with fancy smart phones! Can I get another woot woot?! :) 


Our second date was out to Chili's. We had one of their meal deals, which included 2 margaritas, Loaded cheese fries, 2 entrees and a molten Oreo cake. The food was amazing, our server was fun - it was a great night. 

60. Mail out 10 thank you notes (10/10) COMPLETE! 

I sent out thank you notes from Caleb to our family for his Christmas presents, using our penguin craft project! 

8. Visit the zoo 3 times. (3/3) COMPLETE!

One very cold day in December, Glen, Caleb & I took a trip to the zoo. It was fantastic! We had the zoo to ourselves and enjoyed every second. There were a lot of animals out and about. We ate a picnic lunch in front of the gorillas. The seals & otters were both out swimming/playing. It was just such a wonderful visit. We bought a family  membership so will definitely be back in the Spring!!!

Six Can Tortilla Chicken Soup

18. Try 25 new recipes(25/25) COMPLETE!!! 

This recipe was recommended to me by a friend. This recipe could not be ANY easier! It was so yummy! I did use canned chicken, but I imagine it would be much better with leftover chicken or a rotisserie from the store. I didn't make any changes to the recipe, but a lot of the reviews added cream of soup which sounds good too!

November Checks!

83. Do 20 art projects with Caleb. (9/20)

Caleb & I made a "Christmas Star" for the top of our tree. I cut a star out of foam, he painted it with glue & sprinkled glitter on top. It was super messy! He was REALLY excited about this project & I love seeing his mark on our tree!

11. Watch 5 movies that have won “Best Picture” Academy Awards (2/5)

Over Thanksgiving weekend, we watched "Driving Miss Daisy". Its one of my Dad's favorite movies & somehow I have never seen it. I really enjoyed it. I expected more of a playful drama, but it was a very moving film.

16. Read 50 books (29/50)

I just finished reading "Cinderella Ate My Daughter". I'm not sure what motivated me to read this book, I don't often read non-fiction. It was a very easy read, and a fascinating subject. Obviously this book is targeted towards parents of girls, but I took away a lot of information about how marketing affects our children.

39. Don’t spend any money at BRU

I'm calling this completed for October! I spend quite a few of our dollars at Babies R Us. Its easy to spend money there...I'm always there! I tend to pick up something on clearance, or a new toy or something random for Caleb. (or a soda for myself!) In October I didn't buy a single thing! Go me!

18. Try 25 new recipes(23/25)

I made a Nutella cream pie for Thanksgiving! It was yummy! I don't think I've ever made a cream pie before, and it was rather easy. I'll be making this again for Glen.

Tonight I tried my hand at fried chicken! I used Pioneer Woman's recipe. It came out satisfactory, but I'll definitely be trying this again to perfect my technique.

Mmmm pizza. And spiders. But not together.

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

Last month I went out with some of my friends to the new Mellow Mushroom in Cary. It was a delicious meal, and with the exception of some less than awesome service, we had a great time. I love going out with the girls and being able to chat & relax.

43. No texting while driving

I know, I know. Texting while driving is REALLY bad. This month I made it my goal to not read, or send, text messages while driving. It was not that hard, a lot of the messages I send/receive while out are not necessary. I utilized red lights and staying in the parking lot a few extra minutes to get out my messages! This is a habit I plan on maintaining:)

60. Mail out 10 thank you notes (4/10)

I sent out 2 thank you notes for birthday gifts I received. :)

61. Have ten date nights (8/10)

My parents watched Caleb for the evening, while Glen & I ventured out to the NC State Fair. We ate lots of yummy food and enjoyed walking around without a crazy toddler!

Last month we grabbed a pizza, and headed to the park for a picnic. We finished up our evening with some yummy yogurt from The Skinny Dip. It was such a relaxing, chill date!

71. Meet an online friend in real life

My best mommy friends live in my computer. For real. Most of my current friends are those I met online, and they are the most amazing group of women! I have many "crazy internet friends" that I hope to meet someday. Last week we were able to meet one of my friends at the park, along with her two beautiful girls! It's so much fun to put a face to the name I've known for so long.

83. Do 20 art projects with Caleb. (8/20)

Today Caleb & I made a scary spider!! I got the idea from Pinterest. Here is our finished product! I tried to get a photo WITH Caleb but someone was not being agreeable, and it wasn't the spider:)

100. Buy something from Etsy

I ordered a Christmas present off Etsy from this shop, Crochet Hatsy. I can't go into any more detail because its a SURPRISE!! :)

92. Play outside in the rain

Hurricane Irene came to visit us last week. She was a mighty big storm that severely damaged the outer banks of NC, and up into NJ. Here in Raleigh we only experienced winds & rain. As she was blowing in, Caleb suited up in his rain boots and raincoat for some fun in the rain.

Caleb LOVES his rain boots and is always asking for an excuse to wear them. He had a blast finding the puddles and jumping in them! We came in only slightly wet and very happy!

Where did August go?

I'm not sure where the month of August went, it flew by in a flash! I feel like I didn't accomplish much on my list this month, and what I have done is floating around in my head, not in a post like it should be. Let's see if I can remember everything!


8. Visit the zoo 3 times (2/3)

My sister & I took all 5 kids to the zoo this week. It was an ideal time for the zoo. It wasn't too hot, and most kiddos were in school. It was a really quiet day, no school trips were terrorizing us! We had a great day! All the kids learned something, and I did too! I learned -

1. Ostriches knees are "backwards." (That is, in comparison to other animals. I'm sure an ostrich thinks his knees are just fine.
2. Turtles have a backbone that attaches to their shell. Their shell is actually a bone, and grows with their body. (I knew it grew with them, but I would have not thought of it as a bone.)
3. A male gorilla is approximately 6' tall, weighing 350lbs. This is the same size as my brother in law. Coincidental? I think not. (sorry beth :) )

I also feel that I should mention, I find zoos rather depressing. I love the chance to see and learn about all the animals, but I hate seeing the animals penned up in such un-natural places. For instance, an eagle we saw in a 20 square foot cage flies up to 200 miles a day in the wild. Maybe he likes being lazy and being fed, but I really bet he wishes he could spread his wings and get out a little. Anyway.....

16. Read 50 books (27/50)

I finished the final 2 books in the Hunger Games Series. I really enjoyed the series, but the final book was way political for me. I feel like it lost some of what I loved most about the first 2 books. I would definitely recommend this series!

23. Try 2 new foods from different cultures (2/2)

Glen & I went out for Afghan food for our anniversary! We visited the Unaabi Grill in Cary and had a really great experience. We started with a sampler platter of turnovers, which were all very tasty. Some of the fillings included green onion, pumpkin, potatoes and spiced meat. We liked ALL of them. My meal was seasoned chicken with a red sauce, served with rice. I ate every last drop and it was very, very, very good! Glen had a unique meal of dumplings served with a mint yogurt sauce. It was 100% unique and he really enjoyed it. I'm glad we stepped out of our box and tried something new!

50. Print & hang our wedding pictures

Boo-yah! Finally done! We're been married for a mere 4 years, so I decided its time to print a wedding photo :) I took advantage of a few free photo deals from Walgreens for my prints, and got BOGO free frames from Michael's. I love getting some good deals! I hung a collage of our wedding in the hallway, and an 8x10 in our bedroom. I am super excited to see these pictures up, I love remembering all the details of our wedding day!

84. Take him to a park 50 times (50/50)
Done, done and done! We went to the park a bunch of times this month. We've been to the Airport park for a picnic with friends, the park with Caleb's cousins, a playdate at the lake park and a morning park trip with Daddy!

I think that's it for now! Have a fun Labor Day weekend!!!

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.....

Awesome title eh? It really captures your interest:) Haha, read on to find out more!

16. Read 50 books (15/50)
I read two awesome books last week. In fact, I read both of them in 1 day.

The first one was "The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake." It was about a girl who can taste people's emotions through the food they cook. Really fascinating concept, and the author had a really colorful way of writing. I found it captivating.

The other book I read is titled "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time". This novel is written from the perspective of a 15 year old Autistic boy who is investigating the murder of a dog in his neighborhood. The author did a fantastic job of letting you get to know the boy and its so easy to get wrapped up in his complex world.

84. Take him to a park 50 times (45/50)
Caleb & I have enjoyed visits to : Green Road Park, Kids Together Park, the Airport Observation Park and the Millbrook Pool/Splash Park (twice). I'm sure we'll cross this goal off the list soon! And since this post is severly lacking in pictures - here is one of my cutie at the Splash Park.



29. Bake something once a month for a whole year (12/12)
COMPLETE! I actually started this last April, so either I did a shotty job at keeping track - or I didn't bake for 12 consecutive months. Whatev. It's my blog and I'm calling it complete:) I baked a tray of cake chews for a family party this month. They were a HUGE hit!

95. Write to 25 companies & request coupons (7/25)
This is an update - I haven't written anymore companies yet. But I received $14.50 worth of coupons so far! Woot!

Picnic, Playground, and Pirates!

Arrrrrrr!!! We've had a fun week and I have quite a few things to check off my list.

21. Enjoy a Mom’s Night Out 4 times (3/4)
I met up with a few of my Mommy friends at La Rancherita for some yummy Mexican food and adult conversation! We talked about pacifiers, potty training and other fun stuff. We all were amazed at how big our toddlers are!

60. Mail out 10 thank you notes (2/10)
Caleb (via Mommy) mailed out 2 thank you notes to our family in NJ for some Easter presents!

61. Have ten date nights (5/10)
Glen & I went out to see "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" last night. We went to North Hills, bought our tickets and walked around for a bit. The movie was really good & it was nice to have a movie night - our last one was 5 months ago!

62. Do something out of the ordinary for Glen 4 times (1/4)
I made Glen a photo collage with lots of our self taken photos. I put a quote at the top from Dr. Seuss - "We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love." Glen LOVED it and was really surprised at a spontaneous present. Yay!

84. Take Caleb to a park 50 times (40/50)
This week we played at Baileywick Park with Caleb's friends Liam & Autumn. Then we went to Spring Forest Road Park with Daddy.

91. Enjoy a family picnic
On Thursday night we packed a bag with drinks, plates & napkins; grabbed a Little Caesar's Pizza and spent the evening at the park. It was a ton of fun! There was a little league baseball game next to the park & Caleb thought that was fascinating.



95. Write to 25 companies & request coupons (7/25)
This week I wrote to 7 companies and asked for coupons for products. Several of them already responded no, but others are mailing me coupons. I'm excited to see what appears in our mail box!

16. Read 50 books (11/50)
I finished reading "Dearly Devoted Dexter" today. It was a good read, but not a huge page turner. I have the next book in the series and I'm hoping its a better story.

77. Have 10 "at home" date nights (2/10)
Glen & I kicked back one night this week with the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and some rum:)

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

Complete! Yea! Glen & I had an epic weekend together. Here is the rundown!

Friday - We headed out of Raleigh after Glen got off work, and drove out to my parents' house. Spent some time playing in the yard with all the kiddos, had a yummy dinner, followed by even yummier ice cream cake and then headed home sans Caleb!

Saturday - slept in, wandered around some yard sales, ate at Biscuitville (yum) and enjoyed an afternoon movie. Then we got all dressed up and went to Chapel Hill for a wedding. Danced and drank the night away. Best.wedding.ever.

Sunday - slept in, recovered:), met the parents at the flea market where we reclaimed our baby, enjoyed a late lunch at the local Mexican joint.

Epic. Maybe I left out the epic part. Maybe the "epicness" of our weekend occurred during our drunken stupor in which we enjoyed a lot of fun. LOL. For anyone that really knows us, you know how much we needed this weekend. And it was perfect.

67. Have a baby-free date with Beth!!

Yay! Beth & I had a date night! We've actually gone out a few times in the last few months. A shopping trip to the mall, a coffee at Barnes & Noble, wandering through Trader Joe's, bargain shopping at Target. Each time I'm with my sister is an adventure. She is my best friend, and we both get a little nutty when we don't see each other enough! (Well...we're always a little nutty!)

Last week, her family spent 2 nights at our house while Daniel had some doctor appointments at Duke/UNC. We left all 5 kiddos with our husbands one night, and did a little shopping at Kohl's. Then we splurged on dessert & drinks at the Cheesecake Factory. Actually, I had an appletini, she had water. My big sister is oh so innocent. :)

So, I'm marking this as completed a few times over. Can't wait for the next date with my big sis!

(I also visited the park 2x with Caleb this week! Yay!)