Date night. The free kind!

Free dinner + free movie + both girls in bed + couch = Daddy & Mommy date night

As parents of two littles it is really hard to find time or money to do a date night.  You know the one.  Where Mama wears her tall & sexy heels and Daddy opens the car door looking devilishly handsome.  We've had to become a little more creative when it comes to spending quality time together.  It use to be at the dinner table but now Teagan is so verbal she pretty much owns the conversation at dinner, telling us about her day.  We love hearing her wild toddler stories so we listen to her intently. 

I was contacted a little while back to see if I would like to review a new Christian-family friendly video and I jumped on it! You might have seen the advertisement for the "Woodcarver" movie. It was released on March 6th. 

I don't want to say too much about the actual movie becuase I don't want to give it away but Josh and I really liked it.  In fact, we've already lent it out to a friend!  It was definitely a family-friendly movie.  I felt like the story line was pretty in line with a lot of what families in our country are dealing with.  Separation, divorce, the affect on children, etc.  Josh and I really enjoyed it.  I know a lot of people think of Christian based family-friendly movies are going to shove Jesus in your face and they don't like that.  This movie incorporated subtle ways that we can share Jesus and increase his presence in our lives and others. 

Also, on top of the movie they sent me they offered one to one of my readers!!!  All you have to do is leave a comment about what your favorite cheap date is OR your favorite family friendly movie! This giveaway will be open until Sunday, March 18th!
I can't wait to hear everybody's ideas!!

I am officially...

A wus. A big gigantic wus. Oh my word, ya'll, it was awful.  I had to walk out of a movie for the first time in my life.
I surprised Josh on Friday.  My parents followed us home and stayed after we put the girls to bed so we could go out.  I had free movie tickets so we went to see "The Woman in Black".  A little back story: I was the QUEEN of scary movies in my college years.  I begged for somebody to make a movie that would make me scream.  It never happened.  Then I had kids and my hormones took on a life and mind of their own.  So, I walked out, hand in gripped hand, of a movie for the first time.
I'm not gonna say anything about the movie.  I don't want to spoil it for any body who hasn't seen it.  I think I would have really enjoyed it a few years ago...maybe I would now. In my house. With all the windows open and all the lights on in the middle of a sunny afternoon...Yeah, that works.

My morning off.

Well, as I type this I am sitting in bed listening to the sounds of Iron & Wine and a basically quiet house.  This morning I got up with Josh at the usual time of 6:30am but this time the reason was different.  We weren't going to work and we weren't going anywhere together.  I got up for the sole purpose of getting Teagan ready to go visit with her Grandma while Josh and Grandpa worked on the farm.  It was an odd feeling.  I basically did everything I normally do in the mornings.  I went downstairs and fixed her food but this time I labeled and placed lids on it.  I fixed her a sippy cup/bottle (what she doesn't finish in the cup she gets in the bottle, almost bottle free!).  I put the correct amount of puffs for her snack in the container and then put all of the above in her "lunch box".  Josh got her from her crib (she was standing and bouncing and laughing) and brought her down for morning mommy kisses and played with her until it was time for me to get her dressed.  *sidenote-you might be asking why Josh wasn't getting her ready while I was fixing her food, etc. basically he knows I love to get her ready in the mornings so when we don't have to tag team I get to do what i love* I swooped her from her daddy's arms and we "raced" upstairs so I could get her dressed.  This morning she played with her shoes while I dressed her and explained to her what was going to happen.  I told her Grandma had pulled out some of her Aunt Livy and Aunt Kristina and Daddy's toys from when they were her age so she could play with them.  I told her how excited Grandma and Grandpa were to see her.  I told her Mommy wouldn't be coming but I would see her very soon just like at "school".  As soon as she was dressed and all packed it was time to go.  I gave her kisses and hugs and her daddy put her in the car seat.  I gave her a few more kisses and hugs and told her I loved her and would see her soon.  Then they were gone.  It was definitely an odd mixture of feeling excited and relieved and sad and empty all at the same time. 
The plan for me this morning is not to clean.  It's not to cook or iron.  I have been given the "morning off" and I am selfishly going to take it.  I am going to take a long shower.  I am going to take the time to actually fix my hair (even though you'll see why this is pointless in a minute).  I am going to dress in my running clothes and then I am going to see Harry Potter by myself.  I have never been to the movies by myself but I will be buying a popcorn and a large drink and maybe something chocolate and I will sit there and be completely focused on the movie.  After the movie I will get something to eat and maybe run to Target to pick up a few things.  Then I get to go home and run. Run until my legs decide to stop me.  I've downloaded some new tunes this morning and it's a beautiful day and I can't wait to run! This would be why taking a shower and actually fixing my hair is a silly thing because I will sweat and have to take another shower because we have somewhere to be this evening. 
Anyway, I hope you all have a great day because I'm excited to go start mine!  Happy Saturday!

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Last night Josh brought home two movies.  The first one was The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.  I had never heard of this movie but I was slightly intrigued.  Sometimes we pick out random movies and we don't even finish them or we vow never to pick out a random move again.  This time Josh struck gold. 

This is what the summary on IMDB says about the movie:

"Set during World War II, a story seen through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a concentration camp, whose forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences."

That summary does not do the movie justice.  I had a flood of different emotions during the movie. I cried. A lot.  I don't want to give too much away though so I'll just tell you what I thought it was about generally. 
This movie shows the consequences that can follow pinpointing one group of people for being a specific way and torturing and terrorizing them.  This movie shows the turmoil of living with somebody you thought you knew and then find out they have an entirely different side.  This is a movie about what happens when you come to conclusions without hearing both sides.  This is a movie about believing something and then having something rock your world to the point of clarity.  This is a movie about what can happen when people wear blinders and believe their way is the best way and there can be no other way.  This is a movie about a family who is ripped apart and punished in a way you'd never expect.  This is a movie about the innocence of a child and shows us how we need to sometimes dig down and remember our own childhood innocence.
I do hope that you will rent it (or read it).  Please let me know what you thought of the movie if you do watch it or have watched it.