date night

Brian and I took some much needed time for each other last night and it was wonderful. Back in March I bought 2 tickets for us to see Ray Lamontagne live, and the day finally came that he was in town. What a night!

Much of our time, ok all of our time, is spent wrangling our two babies. I wouldn't change that for anything. Brian and I have become a great parenting team. We tag team diaper changes, feeding bed time...all of it is done in tandem. Let's just say I have no idea how anyone can parent children alone and stay sane. Raising kids ain't no joke and I am forever grateful to have such a wonderful and supportive partner. I am first in line to admit that I hate leaving the kids unless I have to.(That's called "Mom guilt" for all of my friends that aren't moms yet. ) I don't leave them for haircuts or spa days. I don't leave them for doctors appointments or grocery trips. Every errand that I run, every meal that I make and every "date-night" involves our two precious babies. And really, I enjoy this life. I love doing life with our kids and teaching them about this crazy place that we call home.

But wow, something about a few baby-less hours is just priceless. We held hands and walked through the concert venue, we people-watched like nobody's business, we cheered, we sat in silence as Ray astounded us with his raw voice. And last night I remembered all over again why I fell in love with Brian. Life isn't about the 9-5, the meal plans and the daily grind. It's those little moments, the look of pure joy on your husbands face, the uninterrupted conversation, the simple pleasures of just being together. That, to me, is living.

2011 Goals

I will start off by saying one thing, we will not be having a baby in 2011. It seems a bit strange, as Julia was born on June 9, 2009 and then David came on June 29, 2010. Brian and I really feel like our family is complete. We have two happy and healthy babies and we are so excited to see how they grow and change in this new year.

But would you believe as the ball dropped signaling the start of 2011, I sat on my couch and cried. Watching the ball drop on our computer (no TVs in this house-more on that later) and all of the people celebrating brought on a rush of emotions. I am not pregnant this year and there will be no new baby to welcome this summer. I got it all out of my system on January 1, 2011. And then that was it. Bring on 2011!

Getting back to the point of this post...Goals for 2011. With no sleepy newborns to watch and keep me inside all day I am hoping that this summer will bring new adventures for our family. Here are some of my 2011 goals.

1. Read 25 books.

2. Make more of our food from scratch and ditch as many processed snack foods as possible.

3. Decorate our bedroom, new furniture and all!

4. Learn how to preserve food.

5. Be more active in the planning, planting and harvesting of our garden.

6. Plan and go on a date with my husband at least 6 times this year. (sans kids!)

7. Learn how to use our camera and take photos.

8. Line dry our clothes whenever weather permits. ( I didn't do too well with this last year)

9. Come up with a solution for organizing our recyclables.

10. Take a girlfriends trip. (Lauren, are you reading this?!)

So, there it is. What are your goals for 2011?