March Goals

It is still pretty cold, but the sun is shining and I can hear birds chirping, so lets do this spring!!  

Review on the February Goals: 

1. Read 5 books.  Short month so I can't go crazy, but this is my favorite thing to do!  Did it.. even read more that 5!  My reviews will be up tomorrow! 

2. Host Valentines Get Together.  I am thinking of having a little family party with fun decorations and heart shaped pizzas? We sure did!  We had the pizzas and too much boxed wine and it was a success!! 

3. Paint bathroom- I mean for the love of God.   Yes my friends.  YES.  We finally painted the bathroom and I LOVE it.  

4. Eat in the dining room- We finally got our new light in the dining room, so I need to celebrate by eating in there! Yes!  We had my parents over for their joint birthday celebration and we ate under our new light.  And then had a dance party to Taylor Swift.  And my dad danced on the couch.  With his shoes on.  My boys are still talking about it.  

5. Try a new class at the gym- Ryan and I joined Lifetime and we really like it so far but I haven't tried any of their fitness classes besides yoga.  Want to try something new!- And not so much.  Ugh! 

6. Don't eat out for the entire month.  This one is going to be so hard and we picked a short month for a reason.  But on the weekends we spend so much $$ on dumb food like Chipotle and Panera.  So for 28 days we are going to eat at home.  We mostly did this and I am REALLY proud of us.  We spent some Valentines' day money my mom sent us on some take-out and my parents took us out to eat because my brother was in town.. and we cheated ONE day early with Chick Fil-a, but it was really cold and we needed these crazy people that live with us to play in the play area and get some energy out.  So sue us! :) But overall, this was really hard but really good! 

Here is what is in store for March: 

1. Go to a new class at the gym- just do it Elaine. 

2. Read 6 books- my goal is to read 90 books this year.  I am on Goodreads and it keeps track of my progress and lets me know if I am ahead or behind my overall goal.  Don't worry... I am right on point! 

3. Check on passports- or find passports.  I can't remember when they expire and it would be a real bummer to pack for Ireland only to find the passport situation is a no go! :) 

4. Paint the dining room- I mean supervise Ryan painting the dining room.  I love you Ryan.  Spring break is at the end of this month, so I am thinking this can happen then... but it is possible it sneaks into our April goals! 

5. Host a dinner party- I love a party with good food and good wine and I know just the crew to come over.  Already excited! 

6. Renew my teaching license.  This is the most time sucking task of my life, but it will feel good to get it off my list! 

What are your March Goals??

Weekend Wrap Up

Oh why does the weekend go so fast???  We did a few things around the house, a few errands, and a lot of lounging.  

Thursday I had to go in to the doctor to get a little procedure to basically cut some skin cancer out of my left temple.  They found some basal cells a few years ago, but it grew back in the same place so we had to be a little more aggressive.  I have some stitches and have to wear a bandage for SIX weeks, but at least they were to get all the bad stuff out!

Both boys were concerned about my bandage.  Paul wanted to know if I told all my friends about my "broken head" and Charlie just keeps pointing to it and saying, "Owie?  Eye?"  But now they are over it.  I expect the same reaction from my students.  I know I will spend Tuesday talking about it and everyone will be good to go.  But I predict in four weeks some knucklehead will ask, "What happened to your head?"

I took Friday off work and I caught up on my DVR and read this book! 

Friday night was dedicated to me, Ryan, wine and House of Cards.  I just love that show.  

Saturday I taught the boys swim team at my high school yoga.  Boys are funny and there was a lot of cursing and complaining but it was very entertaining.  

I came home and convinced the WHOLE family to go to Home Goods and we picked up this cute sign for our newly painted bathroom!  Side note, boys do not appreciate the magic that is Home Goods.  

Ryan spent hours hanging up new towel racks and pictures and shelves.  The bathroom looks so much better.  We just need new light fixtures and I am going to try and paint the cabinets.  Home improvement never stops!  

Saturday night we went to our friend's house with 2 other boys and ALL four dudes played so nicely together it was a Saturday night miracle.   There was minimum intervention from us and we were even able to eat pizza in peace.  So fun! 

Sunday morning I headed to the gym and Paul suggested I do a few push-ups, so he dropped down and showed me his questionable form.  

I came home and we all went to the grocery store and fulfilled our Sunday donut tradition.  The boys cuddle on the couch and watched Robin Hood! 

Then it was laundry, baths, and all the other fun Sunday night chores  

Happy Monday Blog Friends! 

January Goals

I'll be honest.  I did not do a good job with my December goals.  AT ALL.  But it is a new month and a new year and I'm just going to move on.  So... Here are my goals for January!

1. Attend the yoga arm balance workshop my friend Jill is leading.  Support a friend, get upside down and learn something.  I really hope I can work this in my schedule.

2. Paint the bathroom.  I did not do this last month.  I forgot when I am home with my kids I get nothing done.  Anyway, it is on my to do list to buy the paint on Friday so that is a step in the right direction!

3. Pick a color to paint the dining room.  Ryan told me over break that he would paint the dining room (and he wasn't even drunk!) but I had to be in charge of the color.  I'll be thinking about that this month!

4. Take a class from a yoga teacher I have never taken before.  This is a good one for me because although it is a huge bonus my favorite yoga studio is only 5 minutes away, it is a good to branch out a bit!

5. Read 6 books.  This goal is always my favorite every month because it keeps me on track!  It will be hard because it is time to go back to work and I know how exhausting it is, but game on!!

What are your January goals? 

October Goals

I was teaching yoga last night and for the first time in awhile it was DARK when class ended at 6:45. Fall is here.  Oh and it was so freezing last night  I even wore my UGGS.  You know we are seriously when the UGGS are broken out.

Here are my little goals for the month of October: 

1. Read 2 books
- now this should be no problem but lately I have been reading TWO pages and falling asleep.  The struggle is real.  Perhaps less TV and more book time?

2. Carve pumpkins
- I think we meant to do this last year but never got around to it.  Paul is excited about any holiday so he will think this is special! 

3. Deal with the light situation in the dining room
- Who is tired of hearing about the light situation in my dining room?  Me!!!  But I need to deal with this in OCTOBER! 

4. Figure out Halloween costumes
- I am pretty sure Charlie is going to be whatever Paul was when he was Charlie's age (sorry 2nd child) but Paul's request changes every 10 seconds.  

5. Finish Season 3 of Scandal
- Doesn't really go with #1, but I am sure everyone is also sick of me discuss this obsession so it will be good to be caught up! 

6. Bake something
- Nothing says fall like a chocolate something baking in your oven!  YUM

Anything you are dying to do in October?

Friday Favorites

I feel like I've really had A WEEK.  I am ready to sit on the couch with my husband and a bottle of wine and binge watch Scandal.  You guys, I am so obsessed with this show I think I dream about it.  Anyway, I am ready for some weekend laughter.  This clip had Ryan and I both giggling!


Ah, motherhood!  This really had me laughing

Feelings about being an awesome mom week 1 of school vs. week 2.  Hilarious and absolutely true. You won't regret reading this and I promise you will smile.

On another note, last year we took out the really ugly track lighting that was in our dining room.  It looks better now but it is dark.  Fall is upon us and the days will become shorter and it is possible I will want to have a dinner party.  WE NEED LIGHT.  Thoughts about this chandelier?  I have actually seen it in person, and it looks really classy.  HUSBAND- are you reading this?

Happy Weekend everyone! 

Home Improvement DIY

I don't think I would call "do it yourself" home improvement our "thing."  In the process it usually leaves one of us not mad, but huffy.  Is that an adjective?  Nevertheless, I was on Pinterest overload this summer and had a lot of "ideas."  But these ideas only came to fruition the last week of summer.  Of course.  

The first project was a jewelry organizer.  I don't know about you but my jewelry was just bunched all together in my closet, in a drawer and I never knew what I had.  In fact when I went through things for the project I found many broken earrings and many without matches.  How did I lose so many earrings?  Who knows.  But now everything is organized and sorted.  Hello summer nesting.  No I'm not pregnant.  

So I found this project on Pinterest (duh) and I swore I pinned a link to it, but now I can't find it anywhere.  I just spent 20 minutes looking but now I am giving up.  Know that this is not my original idea and I did follow some steps.  I bought a frame and a metal sheet from Hobby Lobby.  Yes, Hobby Lobby.  And I feel bad about that because of the no birth control thing, but I couldn't find this ridiculous metal sheeting anywhere else and so I went in and I felt guilty the whole time.  If this jewelry organizer didn't look so cute I would feel really awful.  

Anyway, I spray painted the frame and then secured the metal sheeting behind it.  Ryan hung it for me.  Ryan and I have a different approach to hanging things.  I eyeball things, cross my fingers and hope for the best.  Ryan measures, there is a level involved and it is a much more arduous process.  But don't worry, it looks better when Ryan does it.  Figures. 

The Handyman

The final product.  I hung my necklaces on a contraption I picked up at IKEA for 10 dollars.  I'm pretty impressed with myself.  

The next project was a little harder.  We wanted to frame the mirror in the boy's bathroom.  By we I mean me.  All of our mirrors are the standard, old, boring look but I decided to tackle the boy's bathroom first because if we really messed up there was a less of a chance people would actually see it. There are tons of tutorials on this on Pinterest as well, but I found this one the most helpful.  It is not perfect, but it looks much much better.  And now we need new light fixtures in there.  But I have to give Ryan a break or else he will divorce me.  

Before

After-- SO MUCH BETTER.

Finally, we have quite a bit of blank wall space in our house.  But I hate putting stuff up just to put it up.  I like the idea of a gallery wall, but I am not sure if I want to showcase it in our main family room. There is a large wall between Paul's room and the guest room and I thought we could experiment there. This is just a start and I'm thinking we can expand this and fill up the entire wall.  I bought some of these frames at IKEA and some at goodwill and spray painted them.  I have a new found love for spray paint.  

Don't worry, I have many more ideas... stay tuned.  Sorry Ryan.