My Month in Numbers | October 2016

Happy Halloween!  It's hard to believe that when we wake up tomorrow morning we will be starting another new month.  What is up with these months that go by so quickly!?!  If only February would go by just as quickly!  We had a very busy month filled with Fall activities, as I can only assume many of you had too.  October always seems to be our busiest time of year, but I'm hoping that once we celebrate Noah's birthday in a few days that we can have a few weeks of calm before we get into the craziness that is Christmas.    While I may be a little early, I am once again linking up with Shoes to Shiraz where she prompts us to share a monthly recap in numbers... you can read my past posts here.  I love recapping our months and am really enjoying this format so far!  Here is my October in numbers...

Number of...

8 - Birthdays celebrated

Between kid parties, family, and friend birthdays, we've had a lot to celebrate.  Lots of gifts, singing, and cake, and we aren't complaining one bit :)

11 - Chicks hatched

Noah's class had an incubator filled with little chick eggs.  They got to watch them for about two weeks and watch them all hatch.  I'm not positive, but I think there were 12 originally and one didn't survive.  Thankfully the kids are not aware of this.

3 - Hayrides

We went to the farm twice, meaning we went on the hayride twice.  We also got to sit next to Ernie on the hayride at Sesame Place!

9 - Recipes made

While I've cooked most nights this month, I don't really consider all of my meals "recipes".  Some of the recipes I made this month were new, while a few were tried and true favorites.    This month we made pumpkin muffins, mini pumpkin pies, chicken teriyaki casserole, and chili & corn muffins to name a few.

30 (at least) - Pumpkins

Between the fake pumpkins I decorate with, the little pumpkins I used as place settings for Canadian Thanksgiving, to all the pumpkins we have picked up at the pumpkin patch and decorated, we have a lot of pumpkins in our house!

5 - Trips to the playground

I kind of expected us to have more trips to the playground this month.  We've had some pretty good weather (at least during the week) this month, so I'm not sure why we haven't gone more often.

31 minutes 22 seconds - Length of Noah's annual video

While Chris and I love watching these videos, I'm not sure if anyone other than family would be interested in a video this long!

3 - Trash bags filled with expired food from my pantry

Last week I got tired of things falling out of my pantry when I opened the doors.  So I finally took everything out, checked expiration dates, donated things we no longer eat, and organized the rest.  I'm kind of embarrassed that we had so much expired food in there.  My goal is to not overbuy so that we don't run into the same problem again.

1,733 - Photos in my October Folder 

Plus whatever I take today... which could be a lot, since it is Halloween!  Boy do I take a lot of photos!

55 - Days until Christmas!

Christmas is my favorite time of year and I really can't wait for December so we can start enjoying all the festive fun!

What are some of your "numbers" for October???

My Month in Numbers | September 2016

Happy October!  With a new month comes recapping the month that just ended.  September was a good one.  We got a glimpse of Fall, and despite the rain we are experiencing right now, it makes me really excited for October!  Once again, I'm linking up with Shoes to Shiraz where she prompts us to share a monthly recap in numbers... you can read my past posts here.  I love recapping our months and am really enjoying this format so far!  Here is my September in numbers...

Number of...

Apples picked: 10

Even though we didn't get baskets full of apples, we had so much fun picking them at the orchard!

Days of school: 11

Noah goes to school 3 mornings a week and absolutely loves it!  I'm so glad that when he got strep, it was on the weekend and was on the antibiotic in time for him not to miss any school. Noah would have been really upset to miss a day!

Nights out: 1

I got to have a dinner out with some friends, that lasted 4 hours!!!  It was great!

Tennis matches watched: 5

We got to see 5 tennis matches at the US Open this year!

Bags donated: 8

With Noah outgrowing clothes each season and becoming disinterested with some of his older toys, we always seem to have something to donate.  I've also become better at donating my stuff when it no longer fits or I don't like it anymore.  I scheduled a pickup with Big Brothers Big Sisters this month and will probably need another one before Christmas!

Trips to the zoo: 2

We have season passes to our local zoo.  While we didn't go this summer (I hate the zoo in the crazy hot heat), we are trying to make up for it this Fall!

Videos added to Noah's yearly video:  79

While Noah's at school, I've been working on Noah's annual birthday video that I make for his birthday.  So far I'm halfway done and it's so long!  I think I may have to do some major editing!

Outfits photographed:  8 outfits, 4 pairs of shoes

While I haven't been taking as many photos of my every day outfits, I have been photographing some of my favorite fall outfits.

New Fall shows added to our TiVo: 5

I love this time of year.  All my favorite shows come back on and I get to try out some new shows to see if I like them.  So far, I've added This Is Us, The Good Place, and Kevin Can Wait.  And once it gets closer to their October premiers, I will be adding The Great Indoors and Man With A Plan.  

Walks: 7

Now that it's a little cooler out, I've been taking advantage of the beautiful afternoons and getting outside for walks with Noah.  We were having a good stretch, but then we had some rainy weather and it put our walks on hold.  I hope to take even more walks in October!

New recipes: 3 

This month, I got back into meal planning and tried these new recipes: Pesto pasta, apple bread, and chicken salad sandwiches.

Trips to the doctor: 5, well technically 4

2 for Noah, 2 for me, and 1 for Chris.   But the time Chris went was to the urgent care and he and I had a joint appointment to make sure we didn't have strep like Noah.  Thankfully, we both dodged a bullet and didn't have it!

Photos posted to Instagram:  40

Instagram is my favorite form of social media.  I try to post at least once a day, sometimes twice.  Though I've found that I sometimes unintentionally take the weekends off.

What are some of your "numbers" for September???

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My Month by Numbers | August 2016

Happy Labor Day!  Can you believe Summer is unofficially over??? I know the first day of Fall isn't for a few more weeks, but I think it's safe to say summer has ended!  Once again, I'm linking up with Shoes to Shiraz where she prompts us to share a monthly recap in numbers... you can read my past posts here.  I love recapping our months and am really enjoying this format so far!  Here is my August in numbers...

Number of...

Nights in a hotel: 3

This month we spent a weekend in Rhode Island with family and a weekend in Williamsport visiting friends.  Thankfully Noah loves staying in hotels and is already asking to go to one again!

SPF used: 30 all the way to 100

I have a whole bag full of sunscreen, from spray (for the body) to lotion (for the face) with a range of SPF!

Days spent at the pool: 11 (plus 4 more at the hotel)

Chris joked when we got the August membership that I needed to take Noah 3 times a week to make it financially make sense (versus going as a guest with friends).  We spent the majority of our days at the pool, so I think we succeeded!

Years married: 6

Last weekend, Chris and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary by going out to dinner.  You can read all about it here.

Meals eaten out: 15

With all of our weekends away and grabbing dinner when at the pool, we ate out a lot!  I hope to cook a lot more this month!

Miles driven: 1,395

While we do plenty of local stuff, we logged quite a few miles on the weekends and by taking a few day trips to the beach.  Good thing Noah doesn't mind the car!

Characters seen: 4

The photos Noah took with the mascots at the Little League World Series crack me up!!!

Pins collected: 6

Besides meeting popcorn and french fries, Noah also collected a bunch of pins at the Little League World Series.  We even ordered him a pin display case so he can keep them all in one spot :)

Photos taken: 1,193

Yup, I take A LOT of photos!  And this number is after I delete the bad ones from my DSLR and iPhone!

Days til school starts: 2!!!

I know most kids have already been in school for weeks, but Noah has his first day on Wednesday... we are so excited!!! 

What are some of your "numbers" for August???

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My Month by Numbers | July 2016

Happy August!  One month left of summer has me wanting to slow everything down.  I can't believe summer is more than half over, so what better way to hold on even longer than by looking back at how we spent our July. Once again, I'm linking up with Shoes to Shiraz where she prompts us to share a monthly recap in numbers... you can read my past posts here.  I love recapping our months and am really enjoying this format so far!  Here is my July in numbers...

Number of...

Days with a rental car: 4

After being rear ended last month, my car is finally fixed!  Noah was so excited about the rental car and would have been happy to "keep it forever"!  While it wasn't a bad 4 days, I am relieved to have my car back and that my trunk is all pretty again!

Outfits photographed:  15

Here's a sampling of some of the outfits I've worn (and photographed) this past month...

mommy style | colored bottoms | stitch fix

Times Noah said poop:  620, at least!

Yes, the potty humor continues.  I've become stricter with him saying it outside the house, because the last thing I need is for him to get in trouble at school for potty humor!

Blog posts: 22

As usual, I shared a variety of posts... family adventures, mommy style, recipes, crafts, and my favorite linkups!

Cousins visited: 3

Noah's cousins came to visit for a week and boy did we stay busy!  From a 4th of July BBQ, to a day at Sesame Place, to a trip to the Liberty Science Center!

Days we received an Amazon delivery:  9

Many days we got multiple packages... boy do we order a lot.  Prime just makes it so easy to order something whenever I think of it and have it show up 2 days later... we don't get the 1 day shipping where we live :(

Videos taken:  219

I have to admit I'm kind of surprised I took that many videos this month!  I try to take at least one a day for my 1SE project.  But with my family visiting and all my underwater fun, there was a lot to document!

Section at the Mets game:  329

Chris and I got to go to the Mets game on Saturday night to see the ceremony where Mike Piazza's number was retired.   While I'm not a huge baseball fan, Chris loves it, and it was a nice excuse for a date night.   I'm so glad we had these seats because they were covered by the overhang and it rained almost the entire time!

Row Chris sat in for Yankees game:  1

Chris was lucky enough to be invited to a Yankees game super last minute through his work.  Not only did he get to spend the afternoon out of the office, but he got to sit front row at the game!

Weeks til school starts:  5

I'm so glad we have a bit longer to enjoy the summer.  While we don't get out til June, I love that we don't go back until after Labor Day! 

What are some of your "numbers" for July???

My Month by Numbers | June 2016

Happy 4th of July!  So far we've had a wonderful weekend and I'm excited that we get to have Chris home with us for an extra day.  I'm also looking forward to Noah's cousins (and my brother and SIL) coming to visit for the entire week... they arrive today!  Once again, I'm linking up with Shoes to Shiraz where she prompts us to share a monthly recap in numbers... you can read my past posts here.  I love recapping our months and am really enjoying this format so far!  Here is my June in numbers...

Number of...

Dresses worn: 10

I'm actually surprised I didn't wear more this month.  Last summer I lived in dresses, but this year I'm wearing shorts more than I expected to.  Maybe it's because I found these amazing elastic waist shorts!

dress (on right)

Trips to the pool: 3

Another one I'm surprised wasn't higher!  And more surprisingly is that we've only gone to our own pool once this month (we did go Memorial Day weekend but that was May).  I really hope we go more in July!

Ice creams eaten: 10

This one I'm not surprised about at all.  We made a few trips to the frozen yogurt shop and had ice cream a few times at home.  We always end up enjoying a little too much ice cream in the summer!

bracelets | dress

Barbecues: 3

Two were at friends' houses and the other two were for Father's Day weekend.  I love eating outside in the summer, so here's to a few more in the new 2-3 months!

New recipes tried: 3

This month I tried out some new dinner recipes... a new chicken teriyaki casserole and a crockpot salsa chicken that is perfect for "soft tacos".   I also made a corn and bean salad for Father's Day but I've made some adjustments and plan to share it with you all this week :)

Rides: 19

Between going to our local carnival, the boardwalk, and Sesame Place twice, Noah has been on quite a lot of rides this month!

Naps: 5

While Noah does not nap if we are at home, he is prone to nap if we are in the car between 2 and 4 pm.  I'm impressed I was able to keep his napping down to 5 this month, because when he does his bedtime gets way thrown off!

Bags donated: 10

I donated a ton of Noah's outgrown clothes to a friend.  I was holding on to them for a while, but now have decided it's time to get rid of it all!  Noah and I also went through his toys and donated a bunch of things he no longer plays with.  I was impressed at how well he did and how eager he was to give away things.  He actually told me he enjoyed it.  There has only been one toy that he has asked for and that's only because he saw it in a YouTube video.

Car accidents: 1

I already mentioned it in a recent post, but I got rear ended this month.  My car is drivable but the trunk and back bumper need to be replaced.  For the time being I'm driving around in a banged up car because my body shop can't take it for another month!  Noah was fine, but we replaced his car seat just to be safe.  And my back is sore, but nothing a few trips to the chiropractor can't fix (at least I hope so!).

Trips to the beach: 2

While we are only an hour away from a beach, we don't go that often.  But this month we were lucky enough to be invited down to our friend's family beach house.  Noah and I also made a day trip to the beach with some friends... which resulted in the car accident I just mentioned :(

rash guard | swim trunks (sold out online) |  swim hat

Bear sightings: 1

I've already mentioned this a few times, but I couldn't leave this off my monthly recap!  The more people I talk to the less freaked out I am about the whole thing.  Apparently it is pretty common in New Jersey, especially when you live in the woods like we do.  And the comforting part is that black bears by nature don't attack people, they are just looking for food.  So we just have to be more cautious with our garbage cans and we should be good.  

What are some of your "numbers" for June???

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My Month by Numbers | May 2016

Another month has come and gone.  Once again, I'm linking up with Shoes to Shiraz where she prompts us to share a monthly recap in numbers... you can read my past posts here.  I love recapping our months and am really enjoying this format so far!  Here is my May in numbers..

Number of...

Days it rained: 13

I know that spring is known for rain, but this seemed a little excessive for May!  I really wish we could have enjoyed some sunny but mild weather before the summer heat arrived!

Playgrounds we visited: 2

This is not to say that we only went to the playground twice this month, it's just that we didn't explore that many different playgrounds.  Most days we just went to the one down the street or seemed to go to the same playground over and over (the one with lots of shade!).  

Loads of laundry: 33

While I'm not surprised, this just proves that I do at least a load of laundry a day.  And now that we are going to the pool, I'll be doing even more loads of towels!

Art projects made: 5

We love to do arts and crafts over here.  This definitely doesn't include Noah just drawing, because if I did it would be more like 100+... he literally grabs paper, crayons, and scissors on a daily basis!  These are the crafts that I planned for Noah to do, like our dinosaur crafts, gifts for Grandma & Nonna, and drawings for Noah's teachers.  

Diet cokes: 32

I had planned to cut down, but right now one a day seems more reasonable to me.  I get headaches because of allergies and often tylenol with some caffeine is the only thing that helps... and I really don't like coffee!

Times Noah changed what his favorite color is:  5

I laugh because for the longest time Noah said his favorite color was yellow.  Then one day he said it was pink.  I know that some people think pink is a girls' color, but not only did I not care at all, I actually thought it was kind of cool he liked pink.  It literally lasted maybe 2-3 days... kids are so fickle!  Then it was orange, then blue (like daddy), green, and finally purple (like mommy).  We finally decided that Noah just likes all the colors of the rainbow :)  

Cities visited:  2

This month we went down to Newark, DE for a wedding and brought Noah with us.  On the way back we stopped in Philadelphia, PA and went to the zoo.  

Trips cancelled: 1

We had planned to go to Montreal over Memorial Day Weekend but cancelled when Noah got sick.  

Gups we own: 8 + the octolab 

Noah is absolutely OBSESSED with the Octonauts.  He's told me that when he grows up he wants to be an Octonaut.  I think that would be so cool if he studied marine life!  Anyway, as a result of his obsession, we have collected a lot of "gups"... the subs they drive around on in the show.  We have Gup A, Gup B, Gup E, Gup H, Gup I, Gup R, Gup S, Gup X, and the Octolab!   It's gotten to the point that he doesn't really play with much else.

Birthdays celebrated:  3

Not only did we celebrate 3 birthdays in one month, but the 3 parties were all in one weekend!  Two friends and Nonna!

Restaurants eaten at:  13

As a total, this number seems high but I honestly don't feel like we ate out that much.  But then again, we did have to eat out when out of town and ate out a lot for Mother's Day.  This also includes our little trips to McDonalds or the pizza place, but does not include when my mom brings Chipotle or Panera over for lunch... which is a lot ;)

Trips to the zoo: 2

We often go months without going to the zoo, so I think it's pretty funny that we went twice in one week!  First to the Philadelphia zoo and then to our local zoo.  

Times we went swimming: 6 

Noah had his normal weekly swim class, which sadly ends in two weeks, but we also made it to the pool three times since it opened on Saturday!  Noah is a huge fan of the water and loves going under now!  And I'm obsessed with taking underwater photos!

What are some of your "numbers" for May???

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My Month in Numbers | April 2016

Can you guys believe it's May already! While I love Spring and am very excited for the Summer, I still can't believe we are already here!  Last month, I linked up for the first time with Shoes to Shiraz where she prompts us to share a monthly recap in numbers.  I had so fun doing this kind of monthly recap, so this past month I decided to keep track of a few things as the month went on.  Here is my April in numbers...

School buses counted on the way to school: 24

We started this tradition back in September when Noah first started school.  It began as a fun distraction since Noah would sometimes get a little anxious and ask if I could stay at school with him.  Now we just have fun spotting the yellow school buses and counting them on our hands.  We usually see around 5 every morning, though our record is 10, and we've seen as few as 2 (it all depends when we leave the house!).  

Trips to Target: 3

Pretty self explanatory ;)

Outfits photographed: 24

This by no means that I wore 24 photo worthy outfits this month!  But I did photograph my Stitch Fix clothes, a few dress options for a wedding, and some new jeans I got. 

 you can see more Mommy Style posts here

Play dates:  10

Noah had spring break this month and we planned quite a few play dates that week.  One of our play dates this month was even cancelled, and we still had plenty!

Number of times Noah fell asleep in the car: 5

While Noah no longer naps, he will sometimes fall asleep in the car.  I used to be able to transfer him no problem, but not anymore! 

Trips to the playground: 11

With the nicer weather this month, we headed to the playground a lot.  Sometimes it was to meet up with friends and other times it was just a quick trip to our neighborhood playground.  I love that Noah can ride his bike down the street and we can play, even if it's just for 10 minutes. 

Number of times Noah used the school bathroom: 2

So while Noah is a pro at potty training, he is seriously struggling with using the bathroom at school. He either holds it in or has a little accident right before pick up (thankfully this has only happened twice).   He did however get a sticker one day for at least trying to go and one day I had to take him to the bathroom right at pickup.  

Number of times Noah peed on a tree: 3

Speaking of potty training.  There have been a handful of occasions (this month and last) where Noah tells me he needs to go when we are out and no bathroom is to be found (at the playground or at soccer).  So I improvise and find him a tree or bush ;)

Number of times Noah woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom: 2

Can you tell our life right now revolves around Noah's successes with potty training???  While I don't trust him enough to stop the diaper at night, Noah has impressed me this month by occasionally waking up in the middle of the night telling me he needs to pee.  And sometimes I'm so tired I ask if he wants to go in his diaper and he says no, he wants to use the toilet.  Didn't expect it to go so well!

Holes in the wall at Chipotle: 2,552

I can't believe we even know this!  But one night at dinner, Noah was obsessed with this light box wall at Chipotle.  So as Chris and Noah were playing (and climbing) on it, Chris also counted how many holes there were!

What are some of your "numbers" for April???

Month in Numbers | March 2016

Good morning... I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend!  Last month I discovered a monthly link-up with Shoes to Shiraz where she prompts us to share a monthly recap in numbers.  I love a good monthly recap and thought this would be a new and fun way to do it.  Here is my March in numbers...

Number of plane rides: 2

Our flights to and from vacation went well.  The plane was really empty on the way down and Noah stayed up the entire time and watched his iPad and played.  On the way back, the plane was completely packed and Noah slept the entire time!

Number of nights spent in Turks & Caicos: 4

A wonderful vacation spent at the Beaches Resort in Turks & Caicos.  You can read all about it here. 

Number of rides on a golf cart: 11

Noah loved riding on the golf carts around the resort.  Even if we were within walking distance, Noah preferred to take the golf cart.  

Our hotel room number:  1125

I was impressed that Noah memorized our room number in Turks & Caicos.  Even more, I'm impressed he still remembers it almost a month later!

Number of blog posts: 23

Pretty average for me... posting Monday-Friday :)

Number of egg hunts: 5

There was one in school where they had to look for the eggs with their name on it.  Then we did one at my parents' house with the cousins where they each had a different color to look for.  We (the Easter Bunny) hid some eggs around our house Easter morning.  And we went to two organized hunts... one with at the church where Noah goes to school and the other through our MOMS Club.

Number of eggs collected: 48

I'm honestly surprised he didn't collect more eggs considering there were 5 hunts.  But to be fair, many of the hunts limited the eggs each could should find.  

Number of cousins who came to visit: 3

We were so excited that my brother and his family came down for Easter weekend.  And Noah loved playing with his 3 cousins!

Number of Lightroom tutorials watched: 10

Slowly learning how to edit my RAW photos, so I'm watching lots of YouTube tutorials.  

Number of birthday parties: 3

Noah had two friends' birthday parties on the same day.  It was a long, fun, and exhausting day!  We also had a mini "party" with my parents for my birthday :)

Number of play dates: 4

This is actually a low number compared to other months.  Probably because we were away for almost a week on vacation and then taking it easy while getting back into our real life routine.  I imagine we will have more in April!

Number of muffins baked: 60

I made a batch of apple zucchini muffins to take with us on our vacation and another when we got back.  

Number of nights Chris was away: 2

Chris rarely travels for work, but this month he went to Seattle and was away for 2 nights.  I'm not a fan of being in the house alone, but this time I was surprisingly okay.  

Number of trips to the ER: 1

I'd rather this not be on the list at all.  But the night before leaving on vacation, I went to the ER with stomach pains.  Thankfully I was cleared by the doctors and was able to go on our trip.

Number of selfies taken: 63

More if you count the bursts we take to get one of Noah looking and smiling!

My new age: 32

Another year, another birthday!