the weekend review - aka a lot of rambling

Oh my, oh my! I had a fabulous weekend.

Friday night - I saw Eclipse in the theater for the 2nd time...yes, I'm a nerd & proud of it. It's just such a good movie. I saw Twilight 3 times in the theater, and New Moon twice as well. I just can't help myself. Love the books - love the movies! I love the books more...I read all 4 (gigantic) books in the span of about 3 weeks. I went on very little sleep during that 3 week span, but it was worth it. Edward Cullen {swoons} Jacob Black {double swoon} Thank goodness Stephenie Meyer had that crazy dream about vampires & werewolves that started this whole thing :) And a big thank you to my BFF Erin for agreeing to see Eclipse with me again - FYI this was her 3rd time seeing it. So I am less of a nerd than she is, HA!

Saturday - day, the kiddos & I went to the Big Wal-Mart. Why is it that this always sounds like an AWESOME idea first thing in the morning. But by the time we pull in the parking lot both kids are screaming about being touched by the other & its too hot & I have to track down a cart, and Rachel almost gets a blister from it sitting on the seat of it since it has been outside in the sweltering heat...UGH. I end up pushing a cart full of nearly 90 pounds of just kid since Olivia threw a minor fit about always having to walk when Rachel rides in the cart. The whole, Rachel is still 2 arguement never seems to work...so I didn't even try. Good thing I chose one of those super long carts that they have now. As a result Olivia ended up laying down in the back because she was tired from walking from the parking lot & she used the toilet paper I purchased as a pillow. Now I have to smush the rolls back into a circular form to fit them on the holder...I digress.

We had lunch at Steak n Shake - we did the drive thru then sat in the car. People eating Saturday lunch at Steak n Shake in Forsyth, you owe me a big Thank You for that decision. Ha!

Then at 2:00 we went to my cousin's daughter's birthday party. The girls had a blast there. It is always a good time when the family gets together!

Saturday - night, DATE NIGHT!!! First date since Valentine's Day thankyouverymuch! I don't know why we don't try to make a date night each month, but we don't. At any rate, it was loooooong overdue. And it turns out, I actually do enjoy the company of my husband sans children. Whoda thunk it?! We even tried not to talk about the kids...its hard though since they consume our lives, but in a good way.

We had a lovely dinner at Red Lobster yummmmm - my mouth is watering. (Hope you don't mind, but I am going to talk about the delicious food that I had! hahaha - exciting reading I know.)

I typically like to stick with what I know is good: Shrimp Scampi = good, Shrimp Linguini = good, Lobster Tail = good, Stuffed Mushrooms = good. Like anyone who only gets to go to the favorite restaraunt like twice a year, I stick with what I like. But this time, I branched out a little. I feel that it would be an injustice if I were to go to Red Lobster & not get the shrimp scampi. Seriously, I LOVE IT! I could eat that garlic butter on a shoe. But how we branched out was in the appetizer & my other portion of my pick 2.

Appetizer: calamari, clam strips, fried vegetables, & cheese sticks. FYI - fried brocolli = delish! I highly recommend it. Clam strips = soooo mouth watering good! I love all sea food! And my big big big leap of faith with my main dish was Crab Stuffed Flounder. Seriously, it was flounder around a crab cake. YUMMO! I made a good decision. Jar-O stuck with his usual - steak & fried shrimp. He ain't a fan of seafood, but he is a fan of me - so he agrees to go to Red Lobster every once in a blue moon.

After dinner we went to a movie. I know - dinner & a movie! That almost never happens. The last movie we saw together on a date --- Couples Retreat last summer. So we are averaging this type of date once a year. Depending on your standards, this may be high or really low! Ha!

Anyway, if you have not seen Grown Ups - you should! 2 Very Enthusiastic Thumbs Up! (Sidenote: I wanted to see Inception, but we got done with dinner late...not a problem because dinner was so darn good.) Anywho, Grown Ups = HILAR! Adam Sandler & Kevin James are two of my favorites. Both so stinkin funny in this movie. You know who really surprised me by being so funny in this one? Chris Rock, David Spade, & Rob Schneider - I usually think these 3 are borderline annoying. But they were pretty darn funny.

Sunday we made a trip to Menards. Jarrett claims we spent over 2 hours in there just meandering the aisles...he may be pretty close. Handsdown one of my favorite things to do on the weekend --> Loiter in the home improvement stores...the possibilities!

Anyway, I went with a purpose. I pretty much took apart the mantel in the living room Sunday morning. I will call this, A Work in Progress. It's not done yet, and won't be for a while...don't tell Jarrett :) I did in our trip to Menards get some of the supplies I will need to finish it. But I need to get a mitre box - I found it, but Rachel was nearing total nuclear meltdown during this phase of our shopping adventure. So I didn't get to weigh my options completely before deciding on which one. I will have to go without the kids some time - just typing that made me laugh! I don't go anywher without them on the weekend usually... {You know except if I am going to oogle at scantily clad vampires & werewolves} The important thing is, I have it all planned out in my head - I know what I want it to look like fo sho & that is half the battle.

While perusing the paint in Menards, I fell in love! And I learned something...Rustoleum - my favorite brand of spray paint, also has paint in a can you can buy. Why & how did I not know this before??? Anyway...Colonial Red - I ♥ You! And Jarrett, my love, you made a very wise choice when you said & I quote "Honestly, Nat, you can paint that stuff whatever color you want as long as I don't have to help you." I ♥ you even more than the Colonial Red I chose. HA!

I did complete 1 project this weekend. I painted my chairs & a wheel barrow my Grandpa built me many moons ago. I love the look of it. I was initially concerned because our patio is red brick & the entrance to our house has quite a bit of red brick too. I didn't want it to clash horribly. But they turned out fantastic. In fact, I am going to paint our door this color & pretty much anything loose in the house that needs a fresh coat of paint. Thank you Rustoleum. I had some help from a very enthusiastic 6 year old girl - although she did her share of the painting with a little bitty make-up brush she found in her toy box. She said "Painting is fun, sometimes for kids. I might get tired though." Olivia did half of one chair with her little bitty brush.

Well, that's what I did this weekend...exciting, I know. I'm sure you are all jealous.