Cutting Back

Every 2-3 years, for like the past 10-15, I find that I haven taken on too many commitments. You think after all this time, I would learn. But no. I just get so darn excited about so many things, I sign up for them all.

The high school version: Join student council? Yes! Tutor elementary school students? Yes! Work part-time? Yes! Take AP classes? Yes! Try to have a social life? Yes! Sleep? ...oh I knew I was forgetting something.

The college version: Take a full course load? Yes! (Especially since it was costing a fortune either way). Join TriDelta? Yes! Work part-time? Yes! Host parties at your awesome apartment? Yes! Sleep? ....oh I knew I was forgetting something.

Traveling and wife-ing on our Fredericksburg trip

The mom version: Raise a child? Yes! Be a good wife? Yes! Work out regularly? Yes! Have a full-time job? Yes! Travel? Yes! Generally take care of myself by going to the dentist, doctor, etc? Yes! Blog? Yes! Volunteer? Yes! Watch trashy TV and drink wine? Yes! See friends? Yes! Visit family? Yes! Make Pinterest-worthy anything? Occasionally, yes! Sleep? ...oh right, that again.

So as I have had to continually do, it was time to cut back. And a handful of these aren't up for negotiation. My boys, for example, are (thankfully) here to stay. And though we all have days we'd rather not work, I never have days when I'd rather not have the income, and truth be told, I really do like my job. Cutting out the dentist and whatnot was tempting but ultimately not an adult decision.

This go-around, I cut back on blogging, specifically for the Austin Mom's Blog. I really did enjoy doing it but I found it was a solitary activity for me. Which is what I set out for initially but as I got involved I realized how social it could be with all the fun public and private blogger events that were held. Yet unfortunately, I never ever could fit any of those in. Literally the only other time I saw my fellow bloggers in person was at our group photoshoot last year and it was truly a three ring circus to get there during rush hour on a work day.

I was, of my own doing, having a half-assed blogger experience. Doing things half-assed isn't nearly as fun, meaningful or productive as doing things all in. I mean if you are going to raise a kid, RAISE that kid. If you are going to watch trashy TV and drink wine, well then damn it, make sure you chill the bottle and have some pajama pants ready.

I'll of course continue to be an enthusiastic reader. It really is the best place to find a list of 50 splashpads, events around town, kid-friendly day trips, hilarious stories in mothering and such. (For an example, check out my swan song, Mom and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day.)

I'm hoping with my new found time, I can do the other things a wee bit better. I especially want to get more active in my new volunteer group, which being based in Round Rock, is relatively easy for me to participate in. Also, as part of my new year's resolutions, I'm hopeful I can work out a smidge more and maybe I'll do a few things, like decorating the guest room, with Pinterest-worthy flair.

Thanks AMB - it was fun!

That super kid I'm raising...
by turning him into a toddler yuppie at Starbucks before school

 

New Year's Resolutions

I'm a sucker for New Year's Resolutions. Really, I just like goals. I'm a big nerd - what can I say? Sometimes I make too many and miss the mark on every single one, and that is a big bummer. So I'm trying, especially since I took on this mom role a few years ago, to focus on the ones that really matter. With that in mind, here are our New Year's Resolutions

ME
Exercise four times per week: I know this won't happen every week, like when I'm traveling, but I think it can on the 90% of the year I'm in town. Mom and Dad gifted me with 10 classes at a yoga studio that has a class time perfectly for my work-from-home days so I am set up for success.

CADE
Complete phase 2 of potty training: Also known as really completing potty training. He doesn't have many accidents right now but he is also very reliant upon us to remind him to go. This spring, he needs to go on his own accord and start making it through naptime dry. The latter scares me but I'm sure we'll get there one day. The goal is by his birthday so he can move up from pre-primary to the primary class at school in April.

ME & ROSS
Don't touch the savings account: We're not awful about pulling out of our savings account but we do usually rely on it for vacations and Christmas. In 2016, no dice. We're going to pay for everything from our checking account and let that savings account grow, grow, grow. And of course, continue putting money into it at the same pace we do now.




Ready, Set, Go!

Christmas Traditions

A few days ago I got very concerned with Christmas traditions. Cade is old enough to be totally in love with Santa and Rudolph now and I wanted to make sure this Christmas - and subsequent ones - was totally awesome for him. Ross' schedule throws in the monkey wrench of date inconsistency year after year and that was throwing me off. When would Santa come? How would we explain the ever-moving date? What could be consistent, even if the date moved?

I stressed sufficiently but eventually was distracted by something else. Like in the moment needs of caring for a family.

Today is Christmas Eve and what our tradition could be, should be, will be dawned on me. Since Ross is off for 48 hours, whenever it happens, our Christmas tradition is going to be just that. 48 hours of Christmas awesomeness.

It "came to me" because really, that's what we're trying to do this year. Ross is off Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (jackpot!) and I really wanted to make the most of it. So we're spreading the fun out over both days. And while it is really awesome to have Christmas Eve and Day this year, I realized we can always celebrate for two full days. Every year. So that is what we'll be doing.

This year that meant Christmas music and stockings this morning. Stockings, for us we've decided, are from family. No Santa involved and they are done just the four (Mom, Dad, Cade & Lexi) of us. That's our own little private slice of holiday time. So at 8 a.m. today we busted into our stockings.

Aquarium trains for his train set, complete with water and toy fish and they light up!

Now we're laying low. Everyone is in pajamas; Cade is watching a Thomas Christmas movie, Ross is napping and I am drinking really delicious special Christmas wine. When Cade's movie is over, he and I will decorate gingerbread-man cookies for Santa and early this evening, we'll go to church with Nana and Grandpa Jack.

Tomorrow my parents will arrive, and after naptime, we'll have the big family Christmas party with tree presents and dinner.

It's all the normal things of Christmas, but I'm really enjoying stretching them out across two days instead of cramming everything into one. It also means we can do EVERYTHING: movies, stockings, tree presents, big dinner, and church. Literally all of the Christmas things.

In 20 years, when Cade is in college and everyone is talking about their Christmas traditions, I hope he'll say "we had Christmas weekend. It always lasted two days." Maybe he'll say "we did stockings just us" or "we had surf-n-turf for dinner," some of the little more traditional traditions we're slowly establishing. But if his story is we celebrated and had the best time ever for two days, I'll feel like I've done my mommy job on the Christmas front.

Ah...Improvement

Good news folks! It seems that late last week was the low point of my eyesight (knock on wood). Since Sunday things have been much better. Not "better every day" but on average better. I do notice that after a day of working, these new eyes are tired. So I am trying to take breaks during the work day, either to have a laptop free meeting or go for a walk outside. Walks outside of course have triple benefits since 1) my eyes get a break, 2) the weather is lovely and 3) a few calories burned. The weekend is super good to me and Sundays feel pretty awesome.

Another weekend is almost here so I am looking forward to that. And actually on Tuesday I am in an all-day meeting. I'll definitely need to listen actively but I can probably get away with not reading the whole time so that should be a good break in the week too.

In other news, Ross has a week off! This time he's actually getting to rest on his vacation unlike his last one where he chauffeured me, did parent heavy lifting and helped his mom move. This one is more along the lines of play (video & board) games, have a Saturday night out on the town, laze around with Lexi, do Halloween things with the kiddo, experiment with new meals and cocktails. much more relaxing for him and way more delicious for me.

The Eyes of Texas

Wow - so much has happened since my Dallas trip!

The constant, and inspiration for this post title, is that my eyes are contact lens free. On Tuesday I have corrective vision surgery. Yay! So it's been glasses every day, all day for the past two weeks. I wish I had spent a little more on my frames and purchased something cuter but in a few days, that won't matter at all.

Next let's jump right to the best of all. Last weekend KEVIN WAS SENT HOME FROM DEPLOYMENT! Yay! Last Friday he texted me from Spain where he was waiting on his connection. Then to Virginia late that night. Saturday he was able to catch an earlier flight than expected and was all the way back to Seattle by lunchtime-ish. Yay! Carly and their dog Holly picked him up from the airport and they are all staying on Whidby Island for a week or so while he goes through all his discharge paperwork. Then back to northern California where she'll return to student teaching, he'll get to do some relaxing and hopefully quickly find a job. He has a strong lead in Southern California so we're all hoping that comes through soon and that he can start before Christmas. His Navy experience will be a real asset for that, or any, gig. And while he learned a lot and saw/lived in some new places, and truly had as positive an enlistment as one can have, I think there are smiles all around for his transition to civilian life. Yay Kevin! Welcome home!

Now know that that cannot be topped...

In other news, last weekend Ross worked a double. Boo! Cade declared it no nap Saturday but thankfully I had a sitter for the afternoon to help us get through that fun time. Sunday we went to the fire station to visit Ross and deliver football snacks.

Monday Cade was sent home from school sick and Tuesday he and I hunkered down at the house with movies. Ross had to be back at work so by the end of that day, we were all running a little thin. Hubby gone for 72 out of 96 hours and a sick kid will do that to a family. So I took my maiden voyage with Instacart and had groceries delivered that day. A bit too pricey for every day life but it was a unique circumstance, I had a $10 coupon and the first delivery is free. A perfect time and place. I'm pleased to report Cade recovered quickly from his little cold and was back to school on Wednesday.

Monday/Tuesday, while Ross recovered from his double and then Cade was sick, we added landscaping to the crazy. The same guy who did our awesome back porch stone-lined and cleaned up our flower beds. I added path lights tonight.

Yesterday was the return of the famous Mustache Party. The party was skipped last year as the hosts were prepping for the arrival of baby 3. But that's behind them now and it was time to party again. For the first year we brought Cade. All and all, he did OK. He declared yesterday no nap Saturday again (an unpopular trend) so I knew he'd be touch and go all afternoon. He had fun though, chasing their chickens, enjoying his first ring pop and playing with the awesome truck and dinosaur toys. He and I managed to stay until almost 6 p.m. He dozed the last part of our drive and was in bed by 7:15 p.m. yesterday. In fact, asking to go to bed.

These two were so sticky and so happy.

Also of note yesterday was Cade's official ability to climb out of his crib. ....yay? No, not yay. Stress! I was really hoping we could do that transition next month post eye surgery but he had other plans. So this morning Ross and I converted his crib to a toddler bed. The rail doesn't fit quite how I'd like so we'll be getting a new one as well as some new dinosaur sheets for his "new big boy bed."

With the after effects of the Mustache Party/my at-home wine night and some wicked allergies (it feels like I have an elephant sitting between my eyes I'm so congested), today was a pretty rough day. Cade also decided to really embrace "terrible twos" which was rough on our already short patience. He went to time-out like five times and had one train taken away for bad behavior.  We made it to bedtime though and an hour in, bedtime in the big boy bed seems to be OK. Only time will tell.

Tomorrow Ross and I are both off but preschool is open. So Cade's terrible two tush will be at school and we will be taking care of grown up things. Like my pre-op eye appointment, dropping off a bag of donations and packing up Nancy. Super fun right? Cade doesn't know it, but he's winning by being at pre-school. However after all that I'm really looking forward to taking Cade and Holden to Fuddruckers for $1 kids' meal night and to play in the arcade a little. Ross and I like Fuddrucker's burgers more than any two adults should and we're happy to return the favor to Jenny and Jeremy (who took Cade to Chuck E Cheese this summer) by taking the boys there for dinner. Mommy's last dinner before surgery! Wah wah!

Surgery is Tuesday afternoon and I'll be pretty out of commission until Thursday morning. I'm not even going to see Cade Tuesday night; I'll just be locked in my room on pain meds. By Friday though I should be cleared to drive. And these eyes of Texas will NEVER HAVE TO WEAR CONTACTS AGAIN!

Friday Date Day

I took a vacation day today for a very important activity: date day with the hubs.

Our second date was FABULOUS. Like set us on the road to marriage wonderful. We recreated it once a few years ago and today we did it again, with very minor tweaks.

We had lunch at Maudie's on South Lamar and like that original first date, both ordered prickley pear margaritas. When we had them on our second date, they were the drink of the month or day or something and in addition to being bright pink were garnished with an umbrella and a flower. Ross had never looked so macho. But dang it, if those fruity pink girly drinks aren't delicious.

I had the same entree (shrimp stuffed avocado salad) partly because it makes me all nostalgic but also because it has become my favorite dish at Maudie's and we maybe make it to one of their locations once a year. I gotta get it when I can!

On the original second date, we walked around Zilker Park and had sno-cones after lunch. On our recreations, we go swim at Barton Springs because, well, it's just too hot to walk around the park in the middle of the afternoon and we know better now. So we hopped over to Barton Springs and went for a quick dip in the icy icy water. We haven't been down there since the first date re-run so it was a nice Austin-y outing before summer ends.

Sounds like an awesome day right? It was and even better than everything I just told you is that Ross surprised me with a huge bouquet of flowers this morning and chocolate Blue Bell ice cream. I'm telling you, this guy is a keeper.

I go to fire station!

The first thing Cade said when he woke up from yesterday's nap was "I go to fire station!" and he was right! We went on an afternoon adventure to visit Ross at the fire station. It was hands down the most fun Cade has ever had there.

It melted my mommy heart to see my two boys playing together. And then it did a double melt later when Cade told "Dad is hero! He rescue anybody when he at work." Oh yes, little boy, your dad is a hero. He does rescue anybody who needs it when he is at work.

Beach Vacation!

Hi, hi, hi!

We did it - we took our first family vacation! It was great! Both kiddos did overwhelmingly well and LOVED the beach. We built sandcastles, crashed in the waves, ran in the water and really just had a great time.

Since Cade is just a tiny guy still, we only did 2-2.5 hours each morning at the beach. Then he was just about beached out and it was creeping close to lunch and nap time. So back to the condo to eat and nap (except 1 day when he went on a nap strike). It was also nice to be out there in the early morning when it wasn't 1000 degrees out, before the beach was crowded and actually before the park rangers came by to take payment for the beach pass. $12 saved per day :)

Ross had the good idea to buy a dinosaur kite before the trip and he and Cade had a ton of fun flying it. Cade is still talking about it. We had sandcastle toys galore and by about the middle of the first day he'd figured out how to build them. Also of note is that Cade slept in a regular twin bed for three nights! He did really well. Two of the nights he slept the whole night; the other he woke up several times but didn't do anything dangerous. In fact he didn't really get out of bed. So I think our transition from crib to toddler bed may happen a little sooner.

Lexi chased crabs and even splashed in the water. For a dog who has always been anti-water in every form or fashion, the ocean sure fit her nicely.

For the Austin Moms Blog, I've written a post with our bloopers from the trip. (There were several.) So once that publishes I'll share a link to the post. Until then, enjoy the pictures.

First night, after dinner beach walk; Cade loved splashing in the tidal pools

Discovering sand

Trip to Texas State Aquarium

They are TWINS

We said smile but he chose roar

Staycation Part 1

Cade came back from Nana Camp today!

And we spent the staycation day having fun and relaxing. Including with a trip to our favorite city of Round Rock pool. It was Ross' first time to join us there and he agreed - we didn't have awesome kiddie pools like this back in the 80's. Kids today have all the luck.

Summer Vacation is Here!

At long last, our family summer vacation!

We kicked it off Friday with Ross picking Cade up from school early and me having happy hour with Haila. Then yesterday, Cade shipped out for two days at Nana Camp. I spent the day poolside with Nichole and Brittany and then Ross, Mike and Lindsey joined us downtown for a few drinks.

Today started with activity and then turned to been lazy lazy lazy. We started with a long Lexi walk down the Brushy Creek Trail. Afterward I finally finished decorating the game room! Check out the pics.

Framed board games were the final touch

Cute cubbies and Fort Cade were earlier this summer

Then we ran a few errands in prep for the beach and then vegged out. I've watched two movies (Bridesmaids and Labor Day) and two episodes of another show. I think Ross has been playing computer games and napping.

I'm going to finish my night with an exhilarating combination of kitchen cleaning and reading. Tomorrow I pick Cade up at 9:30a and we're spending the afternoon at the waterpark.

Vacation, full of fun and relaxation, is definitely here.

A La Casa de Negra

Back at the Black Family Home (a la casa de negra)...

We are looking down the tunnel to vacation! Just two school days for Cade, two works days for me and one shift for Ross stand between us and VACATION!

We are SO ready.

Stayin' cool in the hot, hot, hot summer

And pretty unrelated but also, it is 102 here. H-O-T hot. So in addition to looking longingly down the tunnel to vacation, we're also looking for ways to cool off. I have spent more time in my swimsuit the past 2 weeks than I have in years. There have been pools and splash pads and sprinklers galore. Luckily we've had some nice nights but those hours after work and before Cade's bed time are just scorchin' hot. I figure we have 4-5 more weeks of crazy hot before it will simmer back down to just plain hot for a month and then by early October we'll waltz into warm.

Also on the homefront, Cade is super into me right now. Which is very sweet. But we firmly believe in shared equal (but different) parenting so Ross is pushing through some tears to handle bedtime. After all, they need father-son time and Mommy has dishes to wash before she can zone out to 30 minutes of trashy TV. Last night was worse, tonight was better. One of many phases in childhood I assume.

I think that covers us. Over and out.

Summer of Fun

I am deeming this the Summer of Fun. Why you ask? Because it's only May 3 and it already looks like a ton of freakin' awesomesauce summer!

Just this weekend, several summer plans came together. Check out what our next few months looks like

• May 10: Mother's Day
• May 16-17: Ross' boys camping trip
• May 24: My parents visit
• June 5-8: Nashville with Deltas; Cade & Meg slumber party
• June 13: Toddler swim lessons begin
• June 21: Father's Day
• June 27-July 5: no pre-school!*
• July-28-31: Family beach vacation, staying at this awesome condo!
• August 1: Neighbor's birthday party with epic water slides they are already talking about
• August 29: Grandma's 90th birthday!

To get the party started, I took Cade to my company picnic today at Dell Diamond. His first baseball game! You tell me if you think he had fun...

He really loved clapping

A gal from my online Mom's group has a summer bucket list for her and her toddler. It's impressive. I think I'm going to steal the idea from her and work on a little bucket list for Cade and me too. Probably not as incredible as hers but at least something to make sure we check out pools and splashpads while the weather is right for it. And of course, storytimes and inside fun when the weather is too hot even for pools and splashpads.

So as you can see, between our calendar of fun and some bucket list fun, it's looking to be a Summer of Fun for sure. Yippee! I can't wait! New hashtag for sure #SummerofFun

*In fairness the no pre-school week will probably be fun and a little stressful as we will both still be working. But it's a short week with the holiday for me and I will probably take an additional half day off for some fun time. And we'll call in the babysitting team to help so I'm sure the end result will be a week that fits right into the Summer of Fun.

Los Cumplenanos Mexicanos

We went to Mexico!

We're on our second night home and the real world and laundry is very much back so with that in mind, I'm gonna hit the highlights quickly in pictures.

Airport selfie Thursday morning

First stop, lunch and margaritas

View from snack bar

The resort layout was great;
you walked through a jungle to get everywhere!

On Friday we did a lot of this

And our fair share of this

Saturday we went to the Mayan ruins in Tulum

They were spectacular

The ocean view wasn't bad either

Then we cleaned up for a birthday happy hour

and surf-n-turf dinner on the beach.

And Sunday it was back to this.

I finished two books, Ross made progress in Don Quixote (just some light beach reading). We went to bed by 10:30 every night, 9:30 on Sunday night. I set out with one goal in mind: to return rested and relaxed. Mission accomplished!

We FaceTimed with Cade every day and had a wonderful four days of couple time, remembering how much we enjoy one another and quiet time together. It was the perfect way to ring in 30!

GFD Promotion Ceremony

Thursday was a big day for our family! Georgetown FD held their promotion ceremony and we all attended! I am so proud of Ross for his promotion to driver and so happy we could have our family there (to celebrate him of course...but also to help with Cade...). Enjoy these pics!

First McDonald's trip before the ceremony 

Badge pinning!

Family pic (thanks photographer Nancy!)

The Best Saturday Morning Ever

Whew - it's been busy over here! I am behind on the blogging front big time. Let me start to catch you up.

Last weekend we had The Best Saturday Morning Ever on a family trip to the Thinkery and then lunch at Fuddrucker's.

The Thinkery (ie Children's Museum) has a special Saturday program called "Baby Bloomers" where it opens the second story of the museum up an hour early for kiddos under three and provides some special little kid programming. We took advantage of the smaller crowd (both in volume and stature) and got there right as Baby Bloomers opened.

We tried the formal programming but Cade was not too impressed. He LOVED the water tables and instruments though. He and Ross played there for probably 20 minutes. He also really liked the tumble area with mats and bouncy balls. When the downstairs opened up we spent about 30 minutes there painting and playing in the light room. IT WAS SO FUN!!



While at the Thinkery Ross got a hankering for a Fuddrucker's so afterward we went here for an early lunch. Since it was impromptu I didn't have a lunch for Cade...which meant he got his very own lunch off the kids's menu. He was such a little kid (not a baby) playing with the arcade games and then eating his grilled cheese and apple slices. It was adorable and kinda heartbreaking at the same time. Talk about sneaking up on me!

We all had so much fun, it was all together and really, it was totally the perfect family weekend morning. YAY!!

Adventures in Saturday-land

Ross is on vacation this week! Meaning a whole weekend with the whole family home! Woohoo!

Today we started with a delicious surprise egg breakfast, then Cade and I went on a walk through the neighborhood and then home for some Saturday morning cartoons. Then the whole family loaded up into my car to run a couple errands, including swinging by the fire station in Georgetown and ending at a park in Round Rock that includes dog park and kid park.

After nap Cade and I had a sidewalk chalk happy hour in the back porch. It feels SO much bigger now since our old table and chair set is gone. We colored all over the place - porch, fence and in Cade's case, on his face.



This evening Ross is out to dinner with friends while I hold down the fort (last night I went to a Christmas party while he held down the fort so this is a quality trade).

And finally, as you can see, I am getting way too into these picture collages...

War Path

Don't let his cute smiles and sweet little "hi" fool you. When Cade Daniel wants to be destructive, he is, as his Grandpa says, on Team Destructo.

Today my cute little 20 month old was on the warpath. He climbed on two tables - dining room and the bar-height game room table. Pour at least 3 bowls of food on the floor. Played the drums with a salt shaker and had no less than three meltdowns. The third, at bedtime, was so severe, Ross came running to my aid worried I might follow with my own meltdown.

Sweet boy, I love your energy but tomorrow can we put it toward something more productive?

Happy Halloween from the Littlest Trick or Treater

Cade went trick-or-treating! Like real actual trick-or-treating to multiple houses with both parents and for part of it, his favorite pup.

Yesterday we got decked out as NFL stars and knocked on four neighbors' doors. All were very nice and Cade made out like a toddler candy bandit. Which really means we made out like candy bandits since he is not allowed to eat it yet.

 

After our formal trick-or-treating, Cade and I went on a stroller adventure to Margeaux and Ryan's. Mostly because I wanted some exercise but it was fun to show off his costume, see Ryan's big bird costume (feather boas and dyed long-johns included) and enjoy a candy corn punch cocktail with Margeaux.

Glamping Anniversary

This weekend Ross and I celebrated the big oh-five anniversary. IT WAS PERFECT.

Saturday (our actual anniversary) was full of family fun. Starbucks and the park with Cade in the morning and then a full family outing to a family fall fest thing-a-ma-jigger. Mom and Dad arrived at our house just before dinnertime. We had a delicious steak dinner courtesy of the family chef/my stellar hubby and enjoyed a champagne toast. Cade stayed up all the way until 7:45p playing with his grandparents.

Yesterday was our big celebration day. And let me say again IT WAS PERFECT. We left around 9:30a, ran some errands and then met our friends at The Park for brunch and football. I thought we would have about 8 people but we ended up with 11, the surprise of the morning being Jon and Erin joining. We hadn't had all those people together in months. And we had a great table on the patio, could see all three games that we collectively cared about and the mimosas were just $1. Win, win, win.

After the noon game, Ross and I headed out to Wimberly for our glamping getaway. It was so cool!

The place is called Sinya on Lone Man Creek and the owner has done a great job thinking of everything. She showed us around when we first got there and then it was just time to kick back. We had drinks on the porch, ate our picnic dinner of salami, cheese, bread, olives and mushrooms. Then out to the back porch for star gazing from the hot tub. We stayed out there so long we got good and pruney. Then into sweatshirts and a couple hours around the campfire just chatting. We played a game of cards and called it a night around midnight.

We woke up around 7:30a to the first bit of light and then sat on the front porch and watched the sunrise over the hill country. Really. Yes, it was absolutely perfect. Then our hostess brought us a fruit, muffin and yogurt breakfast, complete with fresh squeezed OJ.

I don't think either of us knew how much we would enjoy a day and night like that. It was so so so fun to see our friends. Sinya was beautiful. It was so relaxing to be out away from everything and enjoy the quiet. And most of all, it was wonderful to have so much quality time with my sweet husband. Even though we see each other almost every day and talk all the time, we talked nearly the whole time we were together. Meaningful stuff, not meaningful stuff, everything.

I'd repeat this weekend any time.

Glamping selfie before hitting the road this morning

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!