Actually, it's a long story, but the short version is, I wanted to write about my kids on my blog today.
So I am.
Wednesday was the last day of school for my girls.
Faith is going to be a second grader, and Addy is going to be a fourth grader.
YIKES!
Each year seems shorter and shorter.
#panickymomhere
We started our day off with Thank You notes and Gift Cards for the Teachers and Bus Drivers.
The Teachers got Target Gift Cards that said, 'Thank You For Keeping Us On TARGET This year'.
The Bus Drivers got Subway Gift Cards. They didn't say anything clever.
Because ALL of my clever ideas come from Pinterest, and I couldn't find a cute bus driver/subway phrase.
Oh well...hope they enjoy the gift cards anyway :)
Anyhow, here are a few pics from our 'Last-Day-Of-School' Fun!
I got this idea from Pinterest and I did it last year, too. It is the 'OFFICIAL' summer celebration sign :)
I always get some 'welcome to summer' gifts as well. They love the surprises when they come home. (Can you tell my girls might be a little Hello Kitty obsessed?)
This year, I decided to create a Summer Scrapbook for them. They can add pages throughout the summer , detailing the fun things we do.
Addy loved all of her surprises
I also got each girl a Summer writing book. They can write stories, they can write about their day, they can write what they want to do...basically, they can write anything they want :)
Faith was happy to be home on her last day, and ready for summer to start!
She also loved all of her surprises! I love seeing their faces when they see all the goodies :)
This is another idea I got from Pinterest. I have a plan for each morning to start our day off right! This way, there isn't a lot of sitting around, watching TV or being bored. It keeps their brain active, and we get stuff accomplished! More about this another time...
Later in the evening, we let the girls choose dinner, (They chose Beef O'Brady's because of the game room), and then we went to SOYO for some yummy frozen yogurt!
It was a fun last day, and a great kick-off to a spectacular summer!
I started a 10 day cleanse last Thursday, and was doing great...until I got a flu like bug a couple of days ago.
I think it's safe to say I'm cleaned out :(
I'm gonna go ahead and finish out this cleanse, though, just because I said I would. Then it's on to the rest of the 24 day challenge I'm on.
Which is basically eating the way I should and am planning to eat for the rest of my life.
But I'm excited for the "cleanse" period to be over so I can throw some whole grain bread and a little dairy back into the mix.
It's the small things...
And also, I had to cancel a MUCH NEEDED hair appointment because of being sick.
Not happy about that at all!
My hair has been in a constant state of pony tail for the last 3 months.
It's time for a new look.
And my husband thinks he might be getting sick, too, now.
Which is NOT good because we have big plans for this Saturday to go to COSI to see the new Lego Castle Adventure.
I had to miss last years COSI blogger event because of sickness and I am willing all of us to be well so we don't miss this years.
AND, I have had no time to put into Halloween costumes for the kids or myself, which makes me nervous because I usually start that whole process in July.
Who knows...all of us may end up being ghosts this year.
I think it's time for the sheet with eye holes to come back anyhow. It's retro and cool. Right?!
We're all looking for a deal on our Back To School items,
and I've Highlighted a few of the really good deals out there for you!
Target has kids shoes Buy One, Get One at 50% off now thru August 11th. Plus, 10 or 12 ct. pack of pencils are $1 and 10 ct. Eagle pack of Pens are $.94
JCPenney has FREE kids (grades K-6th) haircuts in August! Must book an appointment!
OshKosh B'gosh has Buy One Get TWO Free Tee's thru Aug. 15th
Walmart has 24 ct. crayons and 3 pk. glue sticks for $.25 each, and markers and colored pencils for $.50 each!
Staples has $.01 paper folders, 100 ct. paper clips, and pocket tissues and $1 1" Binders with any $5 minimum purchase thru August 4th! (plus a $5 off any purchase of $50 or more!). They also have $.25 5 packs of mechanical pencils.
Walgreens has scissors for $.49 each (limit of two) with coupon. and $.99 3 subject notebooks thru August 4th.
Office Depot has $10 Backpacks, $.01 folders, $.25 composition books, 10-pk. ballpoint pens for $.25, and $.99 pencil boxes thru August 4th
And for a FULL List of comparative Back To School Items, check out this list from SavingsLifestyle.com!
School is almost out around here, (11 more days!!), so as usual, it's up to me to come up with a plan for keeping the children from driving me bonkers happy.
I will probably try to do a daily plan like I did last year, but I want to do a few special things, too.
BUT, because we just bought a new (used) van, and now have a car payment, we will need scale down on activities that cost a lot of money.
{Read As: No beach vacation, no Disney vacation, no fun...}
And we've all seen those Summer Bucket Lists on Pinterest that have like 125 things to do on them.
Well that's just ridiculous.
There is absolutely no way that I am trying to come up with 125 different things. I think if I get out of bed, and we make it to the pool, we've achieved success.
But I thought that ten was reasonable. So here is my summer bucket list for stuff I want to do with our girls that I'm pretty sure we'll be able to accomplish!
10. Columbus Zoo! I have only ever been to the Cincinnati Zoo, but I have heard a gazillion people say how much better the Columbus Zoo is, so I really want to see for myself.
9. Go Camping. If you know me, you know I HATE CAMPING!!!! But, my girls have been begging for several years now to go, and to be honest, pure guilt is my only motivation here. I don't want to deprive them of something they might love, just because it's not my thing. But rest assured that this will be a one night camping trip and it will be local. I want to know that my bathroom and bed are close by.
8. Go Hiking! While I don't like camping at all, I LOVE hiking! This year I want to do it more, and explore some places that we haven't been to before.
7. Teach the girls to ride their bikes, without training wheels! I know, it's actually embarrassing that we haven't taught our girls to do this yet. We kind of earn the 'worst parent' award on this one. But this is our year. I feel it!
6. Indianapolis Children's Museum! We try to go here once a year, too. My girls think this place is AMAZING...and they are kind of right. They are always changing exhibits, so it's like a new experience each time.
5. Coney Island Amusement Park in Cincinnati! I remember going here when I was younger, and while it's no Kings Island or Cedar Point, it's still a fun place for kids. Plus, it's a lot less expensive than the other/bigger amusement parks.
4. Have lots of bonfires and roast lots of marshmallows! We have a fire pit, but we don't use it near enough. This year, I am making it a priority to use it more often because the girls love it and it cost nothing!
3. Have a Slumber Party! Summer is lots of fun, but it's sad that the kids don't get to see their school friends as much. So this year, we'll plan a big slumber party night for both girls and they can invite some of their school friends over to catch up.
2. Make Homemade Ice Cream! We actually got an ice cream maker as a gift when we got married, (almost 10 years ago). It's still in the box. Soooooo, the plan is to dig it out, and amaze my kids with the magic of homemade ice cream.
1. Have a Lemonade Stand! This one is actually already being planned. We have some friends who are going to Africa to serve orphans and our house church is going to help the kids have a lemonade stand and bake sale to raise money for them. I'm actually pretty excited about it!
What are some of the things that are on your Summer Bucket List??
I will be linking up with Many Little Blessing for Top Ten Tuesday and We Are THAT Family for WFMW. Be sure to check them out!
Remember last week when I told you about all the great Earth Day stuff you could do? And I told you I was going to the grocery on Sunday and using my reusable bags?
Well, I did.
I was so proud of myself for actually remembering the bags and I proudly displayed them on top of my cart as I shopped, as if to say,
"Look! I'm saving the world one bag at a time!"
So when I arrived at the check-out lane and the bagger asked if plastic was okay, I smiled and said, "Actually, could you use these (my reusable bags), and when they are full, please use paper."
I was sure he was going to give me an award or something.
But instead, he looked at me and with that annoyed teenager look and said "uh-huh".
So, I finished loading my stuff and after I paid and the cashier started helping the bagger, the cashier said, "Is it okay if I put this other stuff in plastic?" (The reusable bags were full).
It was obvious he must not have heard my proud Earth Day Statement.
"No, could you please use paper?" I say.
And again, no award.
He grabbed a paper bag and dropped a few things in.
And then,"can I put your meat in the plastic?" he asks.
Apparently they didn't get the Earth Day memo. (Maybe I should have left them my blog card...)
"Ummm, no." I say, "please use paper."
And THEN he totally rolled his eyes!
Didn't they know how proud I was? How big of a step this was for me? I mean, no award is one thing, but rolling your eyes?!
And what he did next was down right aggressive! I had a bag of pretzels and a bag of chips left, and instead of asking HE JUST GRABBED A PLASTIC BAG AND THREW THEM IN!!!!
I knew they were trying to squash my Earth Day pride. But I maintained my cool, strolled my cart quickly to the side, hid the plastic bag so no one could see it in my cart, and then proudly marched out to my van so that everyone else could see what a great Earth citizen I was.
And then I took this picture. Kind of like it was my birthday.
So, the baggers at Kroger hate me, but I'm pretty sure I'm a star in the Go Green community! :)
One of my favorite things used to be going grocery shopping.
I know that sounds crazy, but it's true.
It would be a guaranteed hour (or hour and a half if I could stretch it), by myself to peruse the aisles without two little ones needing juice or a snack or me to wipe them.
It was my mommy break.
But now it's just a chore.
Why did things change, you ask?
Because the grocery shopping experience has changed.
Here's a glance at what my grocery shopping looks like now:
I arrive at grocery store and test a cart to see if it rolls straight and is quiet. If not, return it and test another until I find the right one. I HATE being the lady that people look at because her cart is too noisy, like I purposely broke the thing to get attention or something.
Then I start on my list. First, there's produce.
My girls have started to become extra picky in this area and I never know which week is going to be a grapes week, or a banana week. Or, if some other kid brings Strawberries to school in their lunch, then I'm totally screwed. I buy it all and move on.
Then it's on to meat. There are just waaaay too many choices here to even think about. And I get overwhelmed trying to figure it all out. Natural vs. Organic vs. Free Range vs. Grass Fed...what does all of it mean?!
I'll tell you what it means. It means my brain explodes and I grab a pound of ground beef, a frozen bag of chicken and get the heck out of there!
Next is cereal.
Now, I have to tell you that I have felt the pressure lately to try and buy better grains for my family. Everybody and their sister is making homemade granola and bread and blogging about how we shouldn't be giving our kids all the processed junk.
So I actually venture into the Health Food/ Organic section, (which is akin to going to Africa for me), and search out some cereal that I think will taste good and be better for them.
AND I FIND ONE!
I feel like mom of the year, and I quickly exit the Health food section before I mess it up!
Next up is lunch food and snacks, which is easy because my husband and kids pretty much like the same things all the time. I collect the Capri Suns, Peanut Butter, GoGo Squeeze Applesauce, yogurt, and pretzels. I also grab juice, water, and the only thing that saves me from complete insanity: Coke Zero.
And then I have to get bread. Ohhhhhh the bread aisle.
Why do they have to make it so difficult??
Can't all bread just be good-for-you bread?
But again I am forced to read labels. I HATE READING LABELS!!!!
I think that I remember that there shouldn't be high fructose corn syrup in bread, so I scan for that first. I find one with none, but then I remember this gal I saw on Rachel Ray who said you shouldn't be able to fold your bread.
Is it okay to squeeze the bread in the store to see if it will fold?
And then I see that other mom stroll her car into the aisle. You know that mom. She weighs about 105 lbs., has work out clothes on at the grocery, and when you peak in her cart, she has nothing but fresh fruits, vegetables, tofu, and something that resembles cereal but is basically seeds and grass. And she's telling her child, (who looks like he's never had an Oreo in his entire life!), that he can't have the fruit snacks because they have artificial colors and flavoring.
I think I'm in trouble here.
I see her quickly scan my cart and I just know she is judging it!
Inside her head, she's all, "Ummm, do you really need that soda?" and "you probably don't even love your kids if you give them that junk!".
I start to panic a little. I find the hardest, closest-to-a-brick consistency bread and put it in my basket and wheel my cart away before the other mom reports me to Child Services.
By this time, I feel completely defeated.
I grab the milk, eggs, and the box of Ho-Ho's that some other poor soul has dropped off in the toilet paper aisle, (guilt probably got the better of her...), and head to the check-out lane.
I start to load my stuff onto the belt, and then the cashier starts harassing me for my Kroger card. Can't they see that I'm loading the stuff? I pause so that I can dig it out of my purse, and they act completely annoyed that I am making them wait. After it is scanned, I start to finish the loading. Then the bagger is asking for my cart so he can put the bagged groceries in.
Can't they see I still have stuff to unload???
So after basically throwing the rest of my stuff onto the belt, I give the bagger my cart just in time to have the cashier ask me about coupons.
Ahhhhh shoot! I totally forgot about my coupons. I smile nervously and ask him to wait while I go through them quickly to see if any will work.
He is slightly less than thrilled.
I shuffle through them while I feel the weight of him starring at me. I hand him several that I pray are not expired.
He starts to scan them and then there's that dreaded beep that basically announces to the line behind you that you are going to waste an extra five minutes of their precious time.
He tries again, and again. Finally he looks at the coupon and then the receipt and tells you that you didn't even buy the laundry detergent that the coupon is for.
Great. I forgot the laundry detergent.
You take the coupon back and the cashier gives you the total. $800.
What?!
Last week I spent just $118. Guess I won't be buying that fancy cereal and bread again.
(Okay, maybe it wasn't $800, but still a lot more than I wanted to spend.)
I head home and vow to find a better way of grocery shopping...
Until the next Sunday when I do it all again.
So you see, THIS is why I don't love grocery shopping anymore.
Is your shopping experience similar??? Do you have tips/tricks to make it easier???
Here is a funny video that I thought you might enjoy that kind of sums up how we feel!
{Except I don't like to eat it at breakfast time. Weird, I know.}
So today I am listing a few of my favorite breakfast recipes/restaurant items/etc. so that you can try them too!Oh, and just FYI, none of these are particularly healthy. You've been warned...
-Okay, now I KNOW you are gonna think I'm crazy, but I love Waffle House. My husband calls it Awful House, but it's just because he hasn't learned to appreciate the er, um, uniqueness of this wonderful place. And my favorite item, in fact, the only thing I ever order, is the ham and cheese omelet and hash browns smothered and covered! (If you have been to waffle house, you know what I'm talking about!). It's the perfect comfort food.
-Apple Cinnamon Pancakes is a family favorite. It all started when I didn't have any blueberries or other fun fruit to mix into our pancake batter one morning. I did a little quick thinking and added about a cup of applesauce and a few dashes of cinnamon and 2 packets of raisins. I served them up and now, it's their favorite kind.
-Breakfast Strata is a recipe I got from a coworker many years ago. It has become a Christmas tradition for us, and the aroma that fills the house when it's baking is Ah-Maz-Ing! Here is the recipe I use:
16 slices bread-crust removed
16 slices cheddar cheese
1 ½ lbs. Sausage, browned
butter 8 slices bread, (or enough bread to make 2 layers), place buttered side down in 9X13 pan. Layer meat, cheese, meat, cheese, bread.
6 eggs
3 C. milk
½ t. dry mustard
½ t. salt
Combine this mixture and pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate over night.
mix ½ C. melted margarineand ½ C. bread crumbs.Top over sandwiches.Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.
-Cracker Barrel is pretty much the breakfast mecca. And if you haven't tried their Wild Maine Blueberry Pancakes, you have no idea what you're missing. They serve it with delicious, warm blueberry syrup and I'm telling you that it is heaven on a plate. Go get some. Now.
-Sometimes, something simple is just what you need. One of my favorite simple and quick breakfast items is a piece of toast covered in peanut butter with a sliced banana on top. And if you're feeling really edgy, drizzle a little honey on it too.
-One of my go-to restaurants for meeting up with friends for breakfast is First Watch. They have this menu item there called the Breakfast Scramble. It's Scrambled Eggs, Spinach, Ham, and melted Cheddar and Monterey Jack on toast. They top it with hollandaise sauce and they serve it with fresh fruit and potatoes. It is soooo yummy, and very filling. It never disappoints.
-when I was younger, and living at home, my mom would get up every Saturday and make us a big breakfast. Sometimes it was pancakes or french toast, but mostly it was eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy. My older sister had this trick of having her eggs with the yolk still runny, and breaking up her bacon into the eggs and mixing it all together. It sounds totally gross, and I used to think it was too, until I tried it. It is absolutely one of the best things ever.
-Egg McMuffin. The original. Sometimes, you just shouldn't mess with perfection.
-Overnight Blueberry French Toast is a recipe I fund on Pinerest. I made it for our house church and it was a big hit! Here is the recipe.
-And finally, in the town I live in, there is this little donut shop called Bill's. They have a peanut butter icing filled donut with chocolate icing on top. It is so addictive that you will crave them in the middle of the night. I speak from experience.
Hope you've enjoyed my little walk down breakfast lane. So tell me, what's your favorite breakfast food??
I will be linking up with We Are THAT Family for Works For Me Wednesday. be sure to check it out!
This weekend will be a long one, (4 days for my kids, but 3 for most).
And often, families like to take advantage of these longer weekends to do something special.
So, if you need help coming up with something "special" to do, here are a few ideas!
Go on a Day Trip! One of our favorite places to go is The Indy Children's Museum on long weekends. You can read about our trip there last year here. Other great ideas are an indoor water park or visiting an aquarium.
Do a House Project! Since you have the extra day, tackle that room you have been thinking about painting, or clean out the garage! Just make sure to let the kids help out so they feel like the extra day was special for them, too!
Give a Helping Hand! For all the times you say, "I wish I could help out, but I just don't have time", well here's some extra time for ya! It's a great way to show kids that you can use your blessing of a day off to bless someone else. You could shovel someones driveway, clean up a yard, serve a meal at a homeless shelter, hand out blankets to homeless, or deliver a meal to a family in need.
Complete a task you have been putting off! Maybe your daughter wants you to mend her favorite dress up outfit. Maybe your son wants you to build a Go-Kart. Whatever it is, that extra day is perfect for catching up!
Have a Yes day! My friend over at Amyforhim does this with her kids and they LOVE it! A YES day is a day when it's okay to say yes to almost anything. Ice cream for breakfast? Yes! Playing at the park when it's only 20 degrees? Yes! Not taking a nap? Yes! Dessert before dinner? Yes!
Go see a Show! I don't know about you, but the cost of taking my family to a movie at the theater keeps us from doing it very often. You could use that extra day to have a special day at the movies complete with popcorn and treats!
Plan a Party! If you tell your kid that they get to have a party and it's not even their birthday, you're pretty much guaranteed to get mom-of-the-year! Plus, other parents will love you for giving them a free option of something to do. And it doesn't have to be expensive or elaborate! Have a few snacks, some juice and plan a few games. Your kids will ADORE you!
Visit a Bounce House! Many places have specials on the days that kids are out of school. Plus, it's a great way for them to burn off all that extra energy that they usually get out at school.
Have a special mommy/daddy day! My girls love it when they get one-on-one time with us, so we try to plan days where each of us takes one of the girls out for a day doing things that she likes to do. They usually involve McDonald's, ice cream and a park :)
So tell me, what are your plans for the long weekend???
I will be linking up with We Are THAT Family for Works For Me Wednesday. Be sure to check them out!
Ahem. Anyhoo, it was a weekend full of birthdayness.
Friday evening we had a small family party. I made all of Addy's favorite foods, which included mini corndogs, mac and cheese, (the boxed kind), mini sloppy joes, chips, and veggies and dip.
Obviously my kids have gourmet tastes.
But we did have cake!
In fact, we had this FABULOUS cake made by my friend Cortney from Sweet Top Cakery!
After then it was time for presents. Which, by the way, is getting more difficult.
I am finding that buying for an eight-year-old is delicate business. She still wants toys, but not baby toys.
Which seems to be every toy.
And while she is beginning to like clothes as gifts, she is VERY picky about the clothes she gets.
Apparently, only skinny jeans, leggings, and "cute tops" (I wasn't aware I was buying "uncute" tops?), are acceptable choices.
I did the best I could.
But we also bought her new bedding because she recently inherited our queen size bed. And grey is not a cool color for an eight year old girl's bedding. (At least I know that...)
Saturday was her friend party. Addy wanted to have a slumber party, and that was fine with me, but I had to limit the number of girls invited. Because if Addy had it her way, we would have had 25 girls here.
I have to draw the line somewhere.
Since she pretty much planned the entire thing herself, I wanted some element of surprise for her. I found this super cute idea of a candy bar on Pinterest, and I knew she would love it.
While my husband took Addy and her younger sister out for the afternoon, I decorated and set up the bar.
SHE LOVED IT!!!!
In fact, she said it was her favorite part of the party.
Yay for mom!!!
The girls had so much fun together, and I had fun watching them.
They painted their nails and made these cute little sleeping masks.
They made their own pizza'sand chowed down on fruit, veggies, and chips for dinner.
Then we had yummy cookie cake and Opened Presents.
They watched movies, ate popcorn and danced to music.
They laughed, and were silly and talked about clothes, and music all their favorite things.
They stayed up SUPER late, (1am), and played games like truth or dare and would you rather,(with mom's supervision of course!).
They slept in late (8am), and then had cinnamon rolls and smoothies for breakfast.
For a month, we had been planning our evening at The Nutcracker. We were going to make sure the girls took a nap that afternoon, get ready in our nice clothes, have a fancy dinner at a great restaurant, and then go to the evening show.
It was going to be perfect!
But here's how it really went:
On Friday, we had our friend's kids spend the night. It was great, except that all the kids had their last day of school on Friday.
Which means classroom Christmas Parties.
Which means sugar.
Which means super hyped up kids.
We took them for Pizza and then to look at Christmas lights all over town.
Aren't Christmas lights suppose to be peaceful?
Hmmm....not so much.
I have never quite had that kind of experience looking at Christmas lights.
After that we came home and watched a movie, which I thought was a great way to wind down the evening before bed.
But, in fact, I just believe it gave them the rest they needed before they got their second wind.
So, somewhere around 11ish, they all settled down and fell asleep...
...and then woke up at 6am.
That would have been fine, except for the fact that my family had decided to celebrate Christmas last Saturday afternoon so that my mom could enjoy it on her "off week" from chemo.
So, I made the food, wrapped the packages, and loaded up the car.
We had a great time together, and my mom was fully able to enjoy herself.
But no time for a nap...or dinner.
We came home, had to spend an hour looking for Faith's dress shoes, (which we never found BTW. Good thing I had extras, even if they were too big! Nothing a little tissue paper in the front of the shoe couldn't fix!), got dressed and off we went.
I was very nervous that the girls were going to fall asleep during the show. Or worse, that they would have a meltdown.
Doesn't that sound fun?
But I said my prayers, and decided we would just go with whatever happened.
When we arrived to get the tickets from Will-Call, they didn't have them. But that was no problem. The kind lady behind the counter simply looked up my name and re-printed the tickets. I have to say, I was nervous as first, (because if I had gone to all this trouble only to be turned away, I would be the one having a meltdown!), but it all went very smoothly.
The girls in their pretty dresses. Sorry for the bad photo! We were trying to hurry in before lights went down...
After that, we went to take our seats. And whoa, were they good seats!
They were actually PERFECT for the girls, and they could see the entire show easily.
Once the show started, I was just waiting for the complaining to start. But I am here to tell you that it never happened!!
Addy reading her program
The girls were so fixated on the show that they never once whined or cried, or had to go to the bathroom.
It was a Christmas miracle.
And honestly, it was one of the best productions of The Nutcracker that I have ever seen.
The dancers were fabulous, the sets were amazing, and the length of the show was perfect for 2 tired little girls.
And of course, the music is always beautiful.
If you have never been to The Nutcracker, I really urge you to check it out next year. The Dayton Ballet does a phenomenal job and it truly is something everyone should experience.
Plus, The Dayton Ballet has several other performances throughout the year. I have never been disappointed with them, and can't wait to take the girls again.
So I have to say, even though our evening didn't go as planned, it still ended up great! And that's what Family Fun is all about!
Disclaimer: I received complimentary tickets to The Dayton Ballet's Performance of The Nutcracker to facilitate this review, but all opinions are mine and completely honest!
So before you say anything, I already know that I have been way off my blogging game for a while.
But life has been so crazy for me over the past month that honestly, blogging was just about the last thing I could think about.
But now life is *kind of* starting to get back to some kind of normal. And I miss this blog o' mine. So I'm hoping I can get back into the swing of things.
So now let me tell you about my FABULOUS Holiday weekend!
First, the girls had last Wednesday off of school, so it was a special mommy-daughter day.
We started off by having breakfast at Waffle House.
My girls have never been to Waffle House before, and Addy had been begging us to take her.
Unfortunately, my husband is not a fan. I am!
So we went and of course they loved it, too.
I mean, how can you not love a place where you get to order things scattered and covered???
After that we went Christmas shopping for daddy.
I won't tell you what they bought him because the hubby reads this blog, but I will say that they are SUPER excited about it, and I am just hoping that they can keep it a secret until the big day.
Our fun day was then made even better when we went home and the girls helped me bake 3 pies. I love the help, and they love helping, so it's a win-win! And no one minds that there little fingers were taking swipes of the filling anyway, right?
On Thursday, my day started early so that I could get our GINORMOUS turkey in the oven, followed by the ham. But it was worth it when we got to enjoy the best meal of the year while we visited with 20 or so relatives.
But the real fun began when at 7:30pm, a few lovely ladies and I, (and my hubby for the first stop), headed out to begin our BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING!!!!
Oh friends, let me just tell you that Black Friday shopping is not for the weak.
First of all, it should be called Black Thursday now because the deals started on Thursday evening at 10pm at Wal-Mart, which was our first stop.
And can I just say that Wal-Mart is just full of the most interesting people you will ever see in your life?
I mean, where else can you see someone in ugg-like boots, pj bottoms, and a tank top with no bra and think that it's totally acceptable?
And just when things were starting to get boring while we waited in line, a fight almost broke out between a guy I'm pretty sure was a truck driver at some point in his life and a preppy little momma trying to cut in line who had no fear of him. That is until he started cursing at her. Then she hightailed it outta there.
I think it was a wise choice.
And then, after we got our goods and tried to make our way to a check-out line, I was stopped by a police officer inside the store who was directing traffic.
Did you see that I said, INSIDE the store?
Craziness!
After that we hot the mall for Old Navy, Elder-Beerman, NY&Co., and The Great Steak Escape.
There weren't a lot of choices for food at 3am, and we were running out of steam. And truth be told, pretty much nothing is off limits at that time of the morning.
Our last stop was Target. Unfortunately, everything had been pretty picked over at that point, (they had opened at midnight), so I struck out there. But when I got home, I was able to get the rest of my stuff on Amazon.com, so it's all good.
And on Friday evening, those same great ladies and I gathered up our families and went to the Downtown Dayton Grande Illumination and Children's Parade. The weather was perfect and the kids had a fabulous time!
The next day we put up our tree and decorated the house. It is seriously one of my very favorite things to do. It just makes every day better when you get to walk by a beautiful lit-up Christmas Tree. It just does.
And our wonderful weekend ended with a Pajama day and pizza-movie night. A perfect ending for a perfect weekend.
I am so excited for all the fun stuff that this season holds. We have lots of fun plans, and I can't wait to share all of them with you.
Which reminds me, tomorrow I will be listing a bunch of the events going on around town in December. Hopefully, you will be able to check out some of them with your crew!
So I hope you all had a great Holiday weekend, too! Feel free to share some of your Black Friday stories also. I always love a good Wal-Mart story!
Have I shared with you about how much my family enjoys eating out?
It's kind of a bad thing, I know.
It cost extra money and isn't super healthy.
But it means no cooking for me, no clean-up and everyone is happy with their choices so there's no complaining.
So, I pretty much want to do it every night.
{Note: We DON'T do it every night. That's just my wish...}
Anyhow, because we do eat out a fair amount, we are used to so-so customer service at restaurants.
I don't complain because honestly, I don't even want to serve my family supper, how do I expect them to do it with great service?
But I do realize that we are actually paying for the service, so I do expect something beyond the minimum.
But I have to tell you about some EXCELLENT service we got last week. It was just that good!
Because my mom was in the hospital, my husband went to visit one evening and then stopped to eat at Longhorn Steakhouse after. It was by the hospital and I was too exhausted and emotional to drive anywhere else.
First of all, I was a little in shock at the price.
{Have I also told you how cheap I am?}
We are used to eating at Wendy's, Chick-fil-a, Bob Evans, Chili's on kids eat free night....we pretty much try to keep it around $20-$25 for our meal.
So when I saw that most steaks were around $15-$20, I panicked a little.
But then I calmed myself down and reminded myself that this was a grown up meal without nuggets or mac-n-cheese. I decided to just enjoy the moment.
I ordered a nice steak, medium rare just like I like it, with salad and mashed potatoes. I felt like it was my birthday or something.
Until the steak arrived.
Remember that I said I ordered it medium rare?
It was VERY well done.
But then the manager came over.
Not only did he bring me a new steak, but he stayed while I cut into it to make sure that it was cooked perfectly.
And it was!
And then he told us that my entire meal would be on the house.
Seriously? Just for overcooking a steak?
I told him it wasn't necessary, but he insisted.
And that my friends, makes me a happy customer.
Not because I didn't want to pay. But because they went the extra mile to make sure I was happy.
And this is not the first time Longhorn has given us excellent service, either.
I have to say, when it comes to chain steak houses, they really rise above the rest in terms of service.
So Thank you Longhorn for making a crummy night just a little better.
One year when I was about 15, one of my church youth leaders took some of us girls to see The Nutcracker Ballet.
It was beautiful.
I knew that one day I would want to take my kids to see it too.
And when Addy was 3, we took her to see it, and she loved it too.
It is so much fun to get all dressed up, go out for a fancy dinner, and then go to The Schuster Center.
The Christmas decorations were up, the Holiday music was playing, and there was a fabulous anticipation in the air because it was just one of those magical moments.
You know, the kind that almost make you want to cry.
(Okay, so maybe I'm a little over-emotional right now. But it *is* just so special!)
I wish everyone had the chance to see this beautiful and special ballet, but I realize that it can be a big expense during a time of year that is already kind of tight.
Not that it's not worth it, because it TOTALLY is! But I'm just saying that I can definitely see why sometimes people just can't fit it into the budget.
But if you have thought about going, but have been holding off on getting tickets, TODAY'S YOUR DAY!
I am giving away 4 FREE tickets to The Dayton Ballet's Performance of The Nutcracker!!! And one of the BEST parts is that you get to choose the date you want to go!
There are several ways to enter for your FREE tickets AND YOU CAN ENTER AS MANY TIMES AS YOU LIKE! But make sure to leave a comment for each entry.
The Giveaway will run through November 17th and a winner will be announced on November 18th!
I am SOOOO excited to be doing this giveaway, you don't even understand! I just know that you'll have a fabulous time!
Good Luck!
Disclosure: I have received tickets for my family and to giveaway for this promotion of The Dayton Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker. All opinions in this post are completely my own!
Last Friday our family headed down to Cincy for Free Friday at The Museum. While all the Museum's located at the Museum Center are free that evening, we spent our time at the Duke Energy Children's Museum.
Because a Free Night at a Children's Museum with thousands of cranky, hungry kids sounds like a blast, right?
Actually, it wasn't so bad. Yes, it was pretty crowded, but we got there right as it began (4pm), and so there was no wait for tickets, (they are free, but you have to have them), and the parking, (which was $4), was easy too.
The first thing my girls wanted to do was the Energy Zone. This area is a netted enclosure and has like a gazillion little balls for kids to play with. There are these stations inside, and each station offers chances to figure out the path the ball has to take to reach its destination, and what kinds of energy forces help get it there. Plus, there is a HUGE ball catcher thing in the middle that dumps all the balls at random times, and the kids love that!
Next, we headed to Kid's Town. This is an child sized neighborhood complete with a diner, a grocery store, a bus, a vet clinic, a post office and more. My girls spent most of their time in the diner serving up delicious dishes like smothered steak sandwiches, bleu cheese bread pudding, and pecan pie with caramel sauce. (Okay, *maybe* we have been watching a little too much Food Network...)
At any rate, they had a lot of fun there, and I love to see their ideas go wild as they experience it all. There is a freedom of imagination that comes with being in that kind of setting, and for kids, it is paradise!
They also had a great time with using their hands to build things. They had blocks, a workshop area, and soft building toys to play with and I realized that maybe I need to incorporate more 'building' play at home. I think with girls it's easy to get stuck in the rut of buying dolls, crafts, and other girly items. So now, it will be, Bring on the blocks!
Some of the other areas we enjoyed were the water play area, (watch out! You WILL get wet!), making music with drums, puppets, and The Woods. The Woods is like a Huge Tree House area that kids can climb all over. I will warn you, if you have really young ones, you may want to avoid this area. It can get kind of crazy, and since it's a large area, it's easy for kids to start climbing and wandering and get lost.
The kids love it, but we did lose ours a few times in the chaos of it all. But alas, they found us. (Oh well, better luck to us next time). Hahaha, just kidding, (kind of...)
After several hours, we were worn out and ready to head home, (well, not without a stop to Red Robin on the way home!). I have to say, I loved Free Friday and I am sure we will be back! The dates for the next Free Fridays are: August 5th and September 9th 4-8pm. I encourage you to load up your own crew and check it out. I'm sure you'll be glad you did!
