Me Monday

I'm not totally sure why, but my company gives us Columbus Day off. It's a very New England holiday to have and we don't have any New England offices. But I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. So I didn't question it; I just enjoyed it with a me day.

I took Cade to preschool, worked out and then got a 90 minute massage. Ahhhh. It was heavenly. I'm not sure when the last time I splurged on a whole 90 minutes was but it was fantastic.

Then home for a quick lunch and out to do my favorite thing: outlet mall shopping.

Though the day started out very rainy by lunch it was beautiful. Sunny and seventies. Perfect for outlet shopping. And shop I did.

I got lucky and had one of those days where everything fits and everything is on sale. I did my part to support the Texas economy by making purchases at no less than eight stores. I got two sweaters, a work blouse, a wedding anniversary top and necklace, a comfy long-sleeved tee, cute striped 3/4 sleeve top, PJs for the little boy (Xmas gift!), fleece for the little boy, t-shirt for the little boy and a Christmas gift for the hubs. Let it be known that I was not purposefully Christmas shopping but it is getting pretty close and I figure anything I buy from here on out can be wrapped and put under the tree.

Normally I would happily give you the breakdown of spent v saved. But I've been a bad shopping blogger today and hung everything up without doing the math or taking pics. I can tell you though that one of the sweaters is from Ann Taylor and was purchased for $11 when it was originally $79. That was by far the steal of the day. Other notable wins were the Gap long sleeved tee for $12, NY & Co sweater for $17ish and baby PJs at 2 for $13.

Ahhh, I love an afternoon of shopping. And as if that wasn't enough, tomorrow is back to work but as a work from home day! Woohoo!

Rainy Day Adventure to the Thinkery

It was gross and rainy in Austin today. Even though it cleared up around lunchtime, everything was muddy. Not a play outside day.

But I have a toddler and for a split second our house is clean. I really didn't want to screw that up with mud and I didn't want him to tear the walls down going stir crazy (ditto about me). So we hit the town toddler style - a field trip to the Thinkery!

The Thinkery is the relatively new (and renamed) children's museum. It's about 25 minutes from us and this was our first time to check it out.

We started in the baby/toddler space, then moved on to the farmers market area, then the room of water tables, then snack time, then the innovation space, then glass wall painting and finally the train set. Cade loved the baby/toddler space, water tables and painting. Though really there didn't seem to be anything he didn't like. It was a win all around!

Doodlebug!

So I'm a little behind in blogging (among other things) and baby boy's graduation to toddler class went completely un-blogged about. Mommy blogger fail.



But here it is! Cade walking into his first full day as a Doodlebug last week! His class is 1.5-3 years old and is the class where they will focus on one of the most important life skills: potty training. Can I get a HECK YEAH.

I'm really pleased with the way his school does transitions. He literally spent a whole week easing into it. First with just an hour or so in the new class, then a half day and so on. Last Friday, October 3 was his first full day in the new class. The first time we did drop off there and he stayed all day long.

By all accounts he is doing well. We managed to sneak some pacifier weaning into the mix too. Pacis just are simply not part of naptime in his new class. Woohoo! We're still working on it at home but I definitely take this as a step in the right direction.

I'm noticing goodbyes are less dramatic in the morning too. I think that's because there is so much going on in his class, so much moving and activity that he's just ready to get into it too. (Or maybe we're just having a good week; who knows.) He's taking longer naps at school too which I think definitely speaks to the increased level of activity. And as we've been seeing so much this fall, his vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. I'm sure being around a group of bigger and chattier kids is only going to keep encouraging that.

Development milestones aside, he's also just one cute cute cute little Doodlebug.

The Black Family Barber Shop

With all the amenities of home, including cartoons and a post hair cut shower, The Black Family Barber Shop is a hit among the residents.

Who says we don't have seasons in Texas?

Just ask my seasonal home decorating compulsion, we have seasons. They just have more candles and Pier 1 purchases than naturally changing leaves.

Also as you can see from my recent posts, I have a new photo toy. It's called canva, it's free and it is SO MUCH fun (in a I'm-more-a-blogger-than-a-scrapbooker kinda way).

Patio Project

Since we started building this house in 2012 we've been saying we were going to cover the patio. Then we spent money on something else, and then another thing, then we had a newborn, then I went the less secure self-employment route, then we bought my new car, then we had a landscaper fall through. But then, THEN, FINALLY, it happened.

After changing plans several times, we finally had our patio extended, put up sunsails and added an outdoor bar. Woohoo! Our yard is now 100% more enjoyable and liveable.

Of course like any home renovation project, we run the very high risk of this just being the start. We're already discussing replacing the table and chairs, adding a step down and may even flagstone-ing over the cement part.

But first thing's first - a party!