Friday Faves...a little bit Valentine edition

Happy Friday and Happy Valentine's Day!! We have been immersed in cards, candy and cupcakes this week!  How about you?

My first favorite of the week is the kindergarten Valentine's Day party.  I know some schools have done away with parties, but I am so glad our school has not!   The hubs and I volunteered at the party and it was so much fun hanging with Nick and his classmates.  We played Valentine Bingo, musical chairs, and pass the heart.  The kids colored and cut out some cute Valentine puppies.  They had a yummy breakfast... waffles, heart pancakes, bacon and fruit.  They heard some Valentines Day themed books.  Then of course there were the Valentines themselves!  The kids were so cute, thanking each other for their Valentines.  I think they all had a great time and we did too!!  I'm so glad I'm able to share in these memories with Nick.  He's growing up wayyy to fast!

Nick also had his 6 year year checkup this week.  Well, the check up itself isn't a favorite, but our Fro Yo date at Menchies after the checkup was!

Posing with his submarine picture

Nick started karate this week and he really likes it!  It has at times been a struggle finding an activity he is really interested in and is willing to do on a weekly basis.  So far, so good with this one!  It's definitely a favorite finding an activity for him that he enjoys!

Another favorite this week is brotherly love.  I don't always see a whole lot of that around here, so when I do, I am ecstatic!  Nick decided he was going to read books to Alec the other morning and it was the cutest thing ever listening to him read his brother Pete the Cat books (even if it was right after I told them to get ready for school)!!

My final favorite is Valentines day plans.  I mentioned to the hubs that we should do something different this year (rather than our usual date night of dinner and then debating about whether we are too tired to go see a movie after).  So he booked us tickets for Medieval Times!  I've been once before, and thought it was a hoot!  Just something fun and wacky to do!  I'm super excited!  I'm also super excited to go shopping at IKEA!  There is an IKEA about 20 minutes from Medieval Times so we are absolutely hitting it up.  We don't have any IKEAs around here, so whenever we travel near one, it is a must stop!

Do you celebrate Valentine's Day?  And if you do, what are your plans this year?  What do you do (if anything) for the kiddos?  I have some little treats (candy and non-candy) that I'll give to them and if I'm feeling real ambitious, I'll make some sort of heart shaped food.  But honestly, after doing Valentines and goodie bags for school AND daycare (like 40 of them- plus making Nick write out 17 of his own cards...have you ever sat with a 6 year old while they write out Valentines??  OY VEY), making cupcakes for tomorrow's daycare party, and heart shaped cookies, I am just about Valentined out!  So no promises on the heart shaped food!

Whatever you do this weekend, enjoy!

xoxoxo

Linking up with ANDREA at Momfessionals

An interview with......me

Important (dare I say vital?) things you need to know about me....

How do you take your coffee?
Cream and sugar!  Extra cream.  Regular sugar.
As a side note, when you tell the girl at Dunkin Donuts two times you want 6 cream and 2 sugar in your coffee, why does she still get it wrong?!?!?!  There's nothing worse than taking a sip of 6 sugar 2 cream coffee!!

What's your favorite movie?  
It kind of depends on my mood, but some of my all-time favorites are...
What About Bob, The Burbs, and Vacation.  I could watch those movies every day!

Favorite music/band/singer?
I used to love Barenaked Ladies.  I still love them, but it's just not the same without the big guy in the group.  I also love Great Big Sea (you probably haven't heard of them if you're not Canadian).  And of course, I love my Barry (Manilow)!!

Favorite Color?
Purple.  I like blue too.

Have you always lived where you live now?
I have always lived in New York, however I have lived in various parts of NY... Central NY, Northern NY (wayyyy up by the Canadian border- about 20 minutes away) and Eastern NY (capital region).

If you could move to another state, what state would it be?
Well duh!  Alaska.  I would also love to live in Maine.

Guilty Pleasure?
My soaps... Days of our Lives and General Hospital

Favorite Chain Restaurant?
Olive Garden

Favorite Fast Food Restaurant?
Arby's

Favorite Book?
My 2 favorite all-time books are The Little Prince and Are you there God?  It's me, Margaret.  Oh how my pre-teen self loved Judy Blume!!

Where did you go on your honeymoon?
The Dominican Republic

Where would you like to visit?
So many places!!   Germany and Ireland are at the top of the list (after Alaska of course)

Do you want children/any more children?
I think if I was like 10 years younger I would go for #3.  But I'm not.  So 2 kids is where it's at :)

What do you want to do when you retire?
Travel, travel, travel!!

Favorite Actor?
Bradley Cooper.  Based 100% on his hotness.  If I'm talking the whole package, I'd go with Tom Hanks.  Just love him!

Favorite Actress?
Hmmm... I don't really have one.  I like funny chicks... Melissa McCartney, Kristen Wiig.  Drew Barrymore is a favorite too.

Your teen heart throb?
This is a funny question!  I would say Kirk Cameron and Corey Feldman.  I am totally dating myself here!  Did anyone else read Tiger Beat magazine and tear out the pictures to hang on their wall??

Favorite Cartoon as a kid?
Smurfs!  Snorks was cool too!  Oh, and Inspector Gadget!

So, do y'all feel like you really know me now?  LOL. Tell me something about YOU that I don't know!
xoxo

January check-in and new February goals

January Goals and Good Stuff check in- and a new list for February!

OK, so let's see how I did...

GOALS:
1.  Lose the 5 pounds I put on over the holidays.  I need to lose a lot more than 5 pounds.  But like I said. keeping it realistic and manageable!
Well, I lost 2 pounds.  And then I gained them back.
2. Take down the 3 trees I put up and all the Christmas decorations.  I have most of the decorations down, but I just haven't had the time or energy to take down the trees.  I am really hoping to get this down this weekend!!
Done!
3.  Decorate the house for Valentines Day
Done!  Although the "decorating for Valentines Day" is really quite minimal.  I realized that reds and pinks don't really match my decor.
4.  Start exercising.  For this month, my goal is to take at least 2 long walks a week (I told ya, easy and manageable!  And it's getting really cold out there!)
Ummmm...epic FAIL
5.  Eat healthier.  More veggies and fruits.  Limited sweets and reduced caffeine.
I did eat healthier.  Not all the time, but more than usual.  And I did scale back my caffeine take.  
6.  Buy lunch at work only 1x a week.  This will save me some money, as well as help with my healthier eating goal.
The beginning of the month I did great.  As the month wore on, I started to fall off this a bit.


GOOD STUFF:
1. Have 2 successful birthday parties!  Alec's party is this weekend and Nick's is at the end of the month.
DONE!!
2.  Go skiing (pending appropriate snowfall).
No snow, no skiing :(  Yes, while you southerners were getting pounded, we got nothing!
3.  Take the kids tubing (again, pending appropriate snowfall)
Again, no snow.
4.  Date night with the hubby
Done!
5.  Have friends over for a game night
Nope

OK, on to February!  Which is probably going to look like January since I did not accomplish half of those goals!

GOALS:

1.  Lose that 5 pounds!!!

2.  Start exercising- 2x a week

3.  Read 3 books this month.  Well, at least 2.

4,  Continue to reduce caffeine intake, specifically in the reduction of soda.  I'm not giving up coffee!

5.  Finalize our summer vacation plans

GOOD STUFF:

1.  Do something fun for Valentine's Day with the hubby

2.  Cook and craft with the kids
3.  Go to the science museum

4.  Plan a girl's night out or girl's day 

5.  Get a massage

Check back next month to see how I did!

Friday Favorites...birthday and donut edition!

I totally planned on posting 3 times this week...a birthday party update, January goals check-in and Friday Favorites.  Well, it’s Thursday night and I am just getting around to posting.  Ah, such is life...

But, that just means you get to see some birthday pics in my favorites!

Nick’s 6^th birthday was definitely a favorite!  Saturday we had a kid’s party at an indoor fun center which included blasting people with nerf balls, laser tag, and a pirate ship.

Then it was chicken nuggets and fries, Minecraft cake and arcade games.  Nick had a great time and was well behaved, and all the kids seemed to enjoy themselves.  #happymom

"Mining" themed goodie bags...

Sunday we had another celebration.  My mom and aunt came up and we had a Subway platter (Nick’s request) and ice cream sundaes. 

It was a busy and fun weekend.  I love planning parties but I’m glad birthday season is over at our house for a while!

Next up are these cute Valentines cards I got off etsy for the kiddos to hand out .  I was excited to find some with envelopes because I hate how all the store ones don’t have envelopes anymore!  Maybe it’s just me, but I feel a Valentine card NEEDS to be in an envelope!  J

Speaking of V day, how adorable is this shirt I bought from Moon Pie Designs?!  And check out the cute Easter one too!

So apparently Thursday was Fat Thursday, aka Eat All the Donuts day (as we called it at work).  It is my understanding this is an actual thing and people get together to eat lots of sweets and other foods they won’t be having during Lent.  It is celebrated the Thursday before Ash Wednesday.  Well, upon learning of this, one of my co-workers immediately ran out and got a box of donuts from Cider Belly.  Cider Belly makes THE best Cider donuts!!  YUM...a tasty afternoon pick me up!  Definitely a favorite this week!

My last favorite for the week are these little lunch box notes.  I've had these since the start of the school year but held off on putting them in Nick's lunch because I wasn't sure if he would think they were "cool."  Well, this week I decided to throw some in his lunch box and he LOVED them!!  I originally got mine from Griffin and Grace but I've seen some cute ones on Amazon and eBay too.

This weekend should be pretty laid back.  Other than karate and putting together Valentine's day cards, we don't have much on the agenda!  I'm looking forward to relaxing...well, as much as I can with 2 crazy boys tearing up the house!  Maybe I'll even sneak in a solo Target trip!  What about you?  What's on your agenda for the weekend?

xo

Linking up with the always amazing Andrea at Momfessionals