Date Night, Soupy Sundays, Running, Charlotte...And a PARTY!

Let's be honest, I've been doing a lot of nothing lately. And my blog shows it because I'm not here often anymore. I go through the day thinking, I should probably blog about this, and then I don't. I feel like I'm asleep at the wheel in my own life right now. No excitement, not much to look forward to, and that's not how I want to live, but it is what it is...

I am happy to report though that Monday night date night is a thing again! Perry and I have been doing this for at year (thank you Bachelor). It's to the point that all we have to say is, "Guess what day it is?" If they don't respond with "Soupy Sunday" (because that's a thing too, a great thing mind you!) they will follow it up with a lame-sounding, "date night...." It's one thing that Perry and I look forward to every week, even if it is just sitting on the couch watching "The Bachelor" on the television, digging into our ice cream, or Frosty from Wendy's if we're lucky! I feel like every morning either Hunter or JP checks the garbage to see what we did the night before too...it's kind of weird. "I see you guys had Frosties last night...", "I see you had popcorn last night...", "I see you were eating our candy last night..." Little spies...

But seriously, Soupy Sunday was probably one of my best ideas ever. Maybe it wasn't my idea, maybe it was one of my pinterest finds, but even still, it's one that I've implemented in our home. I think it started in the fall of '13, when I was already getting burnt out of cooking every stickin' night. After all, that was the year I became "just a" mom. Not that having soup changes me cooking all the time, but it's harder for Perry to mess up if he's in charge of it. If I'm speaking honestly... And it's so much easier to meal plan for! On pinterest I have boards labeled "Soupy Sunday," "Meatless Monday," and "Slow Cooker Wednesday." The other days I use, but aren't labeled as specific boards are, "Friday Favorites" and "Try-it Tuesdays". When I meal plan, all I have to do is pick at least one from each of the boards and I'm good to go for the week. We usually use the weekends to eat all the leftovers, if Perry didn't take them for lunch already. Meal planning made *so much* easier! Too bad it doesn't make shopping with kids easier...

In other news, yoga started up again the other week and I realized how tight my muscles are. Pathetic! I would really really really like to run a 5K this spring but I just can't get motivated to get into shape. I wish I had a gym partner to motivate me a bit... I have a treadmill in the basement but I feel like I would be more likely to use a gym because I'd have to pay for it, and leave the house. (What stay-at-home mom doesn't *want* to leave the house?!) I've been tossing around the idea of getting a membership at the YMCA, that way the kids can go to their childcare, and I don't have to worry about JP hopping on the back of the treadmill. (That almost happened...) But the only thing holding me back is the money aspect of it. Can I really justify spending and extra $70 a month when I could just work out at home? I've tried to run while pushing a stroller and having JP on his bike, but it just doesn't seem to work...STOP SLOWING DOWN IN FRONT OF ME! Someone is bound to get hurt and it's going to be Charlotte...

Charlotte has become a real talker lately. And it's adorable. She loves the owl coat my aunt gave to her when she was first born. I thought this girl loved her blankets, but she's kind of taking this coat obsession to the next level. She insisted on wearing it for two days, and two nights straight. Any time when we're getting ready to go somewhere and I say, "Let's go get your coat," she'll by-pass the one standing near, sprint to her room, point, and start whining, "owl." Sometime she'll add the word coat in there too. And just like JP, she loves Ninja Turtles. (Damn it. That reminds me, JP is bringing Ninja Turtle Rice Krispy treats for snack tomorrow and I haven't made them yet...) JP gets a little too defensive when she sees a turtle, starts exclaiming, "turtle! turtle!" running for one of his ninjas... She says no to everything now too. Even if she does want it. "Do you want a drink?" "No," said while nodding her head. Anytime she starts singing at the table, Hunter and JP will ask, "Charli, are you singing my song?" and without missing a beat, she'll say "no." They think it's hilarious! Over the last few weeks, I've been trying to get her to tell me her name. Our conversations go something like this:
M - Charli, what's your name?
C - Nay?
M - Say "B"
C - B!!!
M - Charli, what's your name?
C - Nay.
M - No, say B
C - B!!
And then add a few more time repetitions. JP has been working on this with her too and he really gets fired up when she responds with Nay. She can't say Charli yet, and as of lately, everyone just calls her "B". JP is still convinced it's her middle name...it's not. But as of yesterday she *finally* got it! "Charli, what's your name?" "B!!!" as she starts clapping her hands! Yay!

Lastly before I wrap this post up (which is far longer than I had anticipated!), I'll share one more thing, mostly because it's out of the ordinary for us. Perry had people come over last Friday! I say people, because he's in the same boat as me - where's our friends?! Not that the people that came over aren't friends, but he's never seen them outside of work... Anyways he was invited to play poker with a former employee, but after the game fell through, he decided invite people over to our place instead. I don't know who was more surprised that people actually came over! It's sad that we're so used to getting baled on at the last minute. He was so cute to watch - he was nervous before they arrived, scrambling around to clean up the garage, picking-up stuff at the store, getting his beer pong table out...and then there was me. I had no idea who he invited to come over, but he invited me to come out to the garage to join them (he must have learned from his past mistakes!) and I can't tell you how nervous I was just to go out to my garage! When I did get up enough nerve to go out and say hello to everyone, no one was there yet... As timing would have it, I volunteered to fill in at the hotel again by picking up a couple breakfast shifts, and my first one was bright and early that next morning. I can't tell you how badly I really wanted to play a game or two of beer pong and just let loose. But I didn't. I refrained. Stayed out until 12am only to have to wake up at 3:30 to get ready for work. I would do it again in a heartbeat just to see how happy Perry was. I seriously don't know when the last time he really seemed happy. It's heartbreaking really...