Photobombing pro, right there.
I added a Shop Amazon Now! banner to the header of the site, so if you click on that and then do your Amazon shopping it'll really help me out! :-) Every bit helps me continue to be a stay at home mama. I'll also continue pointing out awesome products that we actually use as they come up in regular posts.
Tuesday we had an absolutely fabulous belated birthday dinner for our best friend K, and my mama was kind enough to take all three kids for a couple hours that evening. Had never been to Olive Garden, loved it. Pesto and unlimited breadsticks ftw. It was actually cheaper than many of our other trips out to eat and made us feel a little more upscale despite being not the richest. Also the company was awesome and adult conversation was sorely needed! Very nice outing and left us with smiles the whole night.
Next Tuesday we will be calling around and setting up our plan for getting a Nintendo Switch at launch. The set-aside paycheck didn't land until the preorders were completely sold out so unless we land a preorder between now and then, camping out the night before it is. Eric is pumped. We've cut out a lot of fun stuff in the interest of being Grown Ups, so this allowance means a lot to him.
Tuesday we also got life insurance plans set up for Eric and I. Feels good to know that if something horrible happens there will be a lot less to worry about on top of the grief. Still need to write up a will and get it notarized, but it's a good start. The quick nurse visit yesterday was easy and I didn't even cry at the blood draw-- come a long way from needing to be held down for an IV when pregnant with Negi.
The clothing Eric picked out for me has resulted in some super cute and confidence-boosting outfits. It's also helped motivated me to continue taking better care of myself-- every day this year I've brushed my teeth twice and used mouthwash twice, had my hair brushed and smoothly fluffy, and a nice outfit on. Every day. This might sound like Self Care 101, but given that I grew up in a household that wasn't motivated to brush teeth unless it was right before the dentist visit (I'm just impressed Mama kept us all alive to be honest) and had three pregnancies in a row that did a number on my teeth, plus am used to kids pulling or throwing up in my hair and messing it up so what was the point, and didn't see much of a reason to change out of a t-shirt and pajama pants if I wasn't leaving the house right then... this is an improvement. You give up a lot of yourself as a mom, and since taking some of that back I've found I'm way more confident and surprisingly more motivated to go above and beyond in parenting. Plus knowing I look like some hot arm candy for Eric ramps up the flirting. <3
This spring/summer I have goals for our house. I'm a SAHM so I KNOW I can meet these.
HOUSE
-Clean big basement room (totally emptied)
-Clean basement laundry room (only washer and dryer and two laundry baskets in there)
-Clean small basement storage room (totally emptied)
-Clean and organize Eric's game room
NEGI
-Learn to read
-Learn the concept of time
-Learn the concept of money
OLIVER
-Learn colors
-Expand vocabulary
-Learn animals
IZZY
-Keep him alive despite his best efforts
-Walk
-Weaning would be great to be honest
After our garbage pickup Friday morning I'm tackling the downstairs rooms. Anything we genuinely want to keep will be moved to the garage, garbage bags will go in the bins, and big stuff we don't want will be put to the other side of the garage for the spring pickup on May 4. Instead of playing World of Warcraft while listening to talk radio this afternoon, I'm planning to make a chore chart for Negi while listening to talk radio. Keep moving forward!