Goals For Deployment

Before hubby even left on this deployment, I decided that I wanted to create a list of things to do with the girls while he is gone.  I thought it would be a good way to do some special things and add some variety to our otherwise very routine lives.  The list includes big and small things alike, as well as a few ongoing things that I want to get in the habit of doing.

1.  Decorate bathrooms

2.  Finish paying off debt

3.  Attend the town's Christmas tree lighting

4.  Go to the children's museum (DONE)

5.  Have a picnic in the park

6.  Take kids Trick or Treating

7.  Go see a movie in the theatre with AJ (DONE, Monsters University)

8.  Pumpkin patch/hayride

9.  Plan birthday parties for both kids

10.  Have AJ paint canvases for both girls bedrooms (DONE)

11.  Get passports for girls/renew mine

12.  Get carpets professionally cleaned

13.  Save at least $10,000

14.  Plant veggies and flowers in the spring

15.  Go to the playground once a week (already failed at this one)

16.  Go to church regularly

17.  Carolina puppet theatre

18.  Go to the zoo

Monthly

1.  Get frozen yogurt once a month

2.  Go out to eat at a sit down restaurant

3.  Run a 5k

4.  Host dinner at our house

5.  Read at least one book

There are a few I've already done, some ongoing goals that I have already failed at, simply because I didn't do them in August, but I figure I'll keep them on the list and keep trying!  We got frozen yogurt last week, so we're well on our way for that one.  I can't say that I'll have trouble with that one going forward.  ;) Running a 5k every month might be a bit more challenging.  I was panning on running the post 5k at the end of August, but they canceled it because it fell on Labor Day weekend (so its not my fault I failed at that one!).

Overall, I am mostly excited about my list.  I think it should be fun to try and keep up with and I'm just hoping that I don't find myself scrambling to finish things right before hubby comes home.  The point is to keep things lively and spice up my life, not run around and do things just because they're on the list.

Is there anything you would add to your list?  What things did you do to stay busy with kids when your spouse was deployed?