Today

• Ollie starting puking before 7:30.

• I lay in bed with him over half the day to keep him happy. I have finally seen the listless Ollie that we always wondered existed. Thank goodness I had The Goose Girl to read (and thank you for the recommendation Autumn).

• Chad took care of everything else. I mean everything. Today was the day of a million things that needed to get done, and he did them plus some, all with good humor. That guy...I can't even tell you how lucky I am.

• Gabe's speech teacher told Chad that Gabe was ready to graduate from speech. Hip hip hurray! He has worked SO hard and I am so proud of him.

• Colin worked on his class Valentines all by himself. He finished four in about an hour. Yikes. I will help him tomorrow.

• My sister Lindsey went to the hospital to have their baby girl! Still waiting to hear of her arrival.

Summary:

Today could've been better, but it could've been a lot worse. I am just thankful today.

*Update -Lindsey had Mayan Jade Morris last night around 7:30. She is 6 lbs 11 oz. 19 inches. Lindsey said labor went really really well, and she hopes that Seth will be able to post some pictures later today.

Two Lies, One Truth

A picture I took on my webcam last night, for no real reason

Chad and I were at a fun Valentine's Day party last night with a big group of other couples. We played a game where you had to tell two lies and one truth about yourselves, or your relationship, and everyone had to guess what the truth was. You know how it goes.

Our statements were:

We went to Cancun on our honeymoon, where we met both Gary Coleman and Emmanuel Lewis.

In the 2002 Winter Olympics we went to a medals ceremony where Sheryl Crow played.

In the last presidential election, we voted for different candidates.

I heard a lot of votes for number one (funny considering our honeymoon was one night in Palm Springs). When it was revealed that statement #3 was the truth, there were several gasps from the very conservative crowd. Chad and I had sworn to each other beforehand that we wouldn't reveal who voted for who, so we just met all questions with a smile. It was fun being a little mysterious, just for one night.

(A couple of you out there know the truth, but, shhhh, mum's the word ;o)

* Just to be clear, everyone was a little shocked, but still very nice about it :o)

Cereal, Cereal, Everywhere

The 100th day of school is coming up, so Colin was assigned to present a project to his class featuring a collection of one hundred items.

Here is what we finished last night:

10 bowls with 10 pieces of cereal in each one. I made straps on the back so that Colin can wear it while he shows it to his class.

And just for fun, this is what I let them have for dinner last night:

An all-you-can-eat-cereal buffet. All three boys were pretty excited - I haven't seen them eat dinner so well in a long time. They had already been sneaking into it all day - I can't walk anywhere without hearing crunching noises.

We got a lot of kinds that we normally don't, just because I wanted cereal that had bigger pieces so they would be easier to glue down. The life cereal was the household favorite (already gone).


What are some of your cereal favorites?

The Coleman Guide to Red Robin

Since we go to Red Robin at least four times a year, let us offer you some sound advice.

1. Red Robin is very very tasty, but $9 for a burger! Gulp. Sign up with their eClub to receive a free birthday burger, which you can use up to a week before, or a week after your birthday.

2. Have your kiddos split a kid's meal. Trust me, my kids can eat and it is still plenty for them. The Red Robin waiters are not the least bit snooty about it either. They even bring two drinks, and once when Colin finished his mac and cheese, the waitress brought him more at no additional cost. Plus the kid's meals have a wide selection of sides - mine usually choose the melonslices or mandarin oranges.

3. If you want to be sung to, present your birthday coupon early in the meal. They will also bring you a free (delicious) sundae! If you don't want to be sung to, pull the coupon out right before the bill and they may not come around, but you may be forfeiting your sundae too!

4. All burgers come with bottomless fries! The thing is, I have only gotten a second helping a couple of times because the burgers are so filling. Which brings me to...

5. It is always tempting to get a shake or the onion rings, and yes, they are SO tasty...but trust me, you are going to feel like crap if you eat those and then your burger. Too much of a good thing, and your wallet will thank you if you refrain.

6. After many a trip there, our firm menu favorites are:

The Whisky BBQ River (onion straws-yum!)
and The Royal Red


...which has bacon, cheese, and a fried egg on it. Sounds very breakfast-y but it isn't. Just very rich.

Runner-Up:
Banzai Burger, which has
a slice of grilled pineapple on it.

6. They often run special burgers, but we have never had one we were impressed with.The Wise Guy Burger I tried in October was a huge letdown (pictured below - I know, it looks tasty, but it was just okay.)

7. Sometimes you will look around at the other tables and see a dainty little lady eating a turkey and avocado sandwich on a croissant, and you will think, "Oh, that looks yummy. I should try that." But you shouldn't, because yeah, it is okay, but it isn't a burger. End of story.

8. Don't forget balloons for everyone on your way out.

What I have been doing today

Watching the new Masterpiece Classic "Emma" online.

Anyone else watching it? It is airing online until March 9th if you haven't caught it on TV.

*Post edit - Doesn't that picture match my header? I love it.*

The Winner of The Valentine's Day Give-Away

I put all the entries into a bowl yesterday and had Colin close his eyes and draw one out. When he pulled my sister-in-law Audra's name out, I just had to laugh to myself.

Of course if I offer to babysit for anyone that lives nearby, the one person with 7 kids is going to win!

Good thing those 7 kids are my nieces and nephews, whom I adore, and I really don't mind watching them.

Besides, if someone has that many kids, they sure as heck need a free Valentine's Day out, especially when they are a small-business owner too! (Check out their hawaiian shaved ice shop, Aloha Snow.)

Congratulations Audra!
Thank you for always being a loyal reader of my blog and a loyal sister-in-law too!

Thank you to everyone who entered the give-away and thank you thank you thank you for reading my blog. If you are new here, come back often. I hope to have some enticing debates going on this week.

Snow Fun

Bundled up and playing in the snow. Yes, Chad has one pink glove on.

Gabe coming in after ten minutes of getting dressed and two minutes of playing

Ollie devastated because he has been so curious about the white stuff outside, and now we won't let him play in it because he has a fever.

Gabe's turn

Gabe and I have been working together in Teach Your Child to Read In 100 Easy Lessons. Just like with Colin, I told him we would go on a date when he hit lesson number 25. Today was that day!

When it was time to decide where to go on our date, he immediately knew he wanted to ride the train. He even saved his Mike and Ike's for the trip.

It was a very simple date - a train ride to McDonald's and then back to our car. My boy had his smile on the whole time, and couldn't stop talking. I loved spending time with him, and I am so proud of how hard he worked to earn the date. He is already deciding what he will do when he earns another date at lesson 50.

Hurray for Gabe!

BMW Performance Driving School

This is where Chad was last Thursday.

From8am-5pm he got to learn from driving professionals and then test his new techniques out in various driving courses and situations. Luke is the gentleman in the black jacket, by the way. Chad had a very good time, to put it lightly. I heard from him during his breaks and I could tell he was a little giddy. I'm really glad he got to go and satisfy some one of his manly dreams.



What I am not glad about?
Gotta tell ya, he came home a little cocky about his driving skillz.

I'll have to see what I can do about that ;o)

Hungry?

CONTEST CLOSED!

How about some Soutwestern Eggrolls from Chili's?

Or some Honey Balsamic Chicken from Ramono's Macaroni Grill?

Or some Baked Ziti with Sausage from Maggiano's?

Or some tableside guacamole (almost as good as Chad's) from On the Border?

My tummy is growling.

You can have any of the above for free if you win my give-away.

Click here to enter if you haven't already.

Keepin' It Real Wednesday

Dear Katie,

When your house is relatively clean...

You have finished a healthy salmon dinner.....

Your kids are getting along.....

You are upstairs helping them finish their chores....

And you are feeling really "on top of things"....

Beware of Pride.

Don't forget that one last kitchen detail.

Put all three bar stools up on the kitchen island.

Not 2 out of 3.

Because your climbing toddler will take advantage of that five minute "chore time" and quietly creep downstairs, where he will push that bar stool around to his heart's desire, and do his own chores.

Like washing the dishes

And breaking bananas open, taking a bite, and then shoving the rest in the toaster....

where half-eaten bananas belong, of course.


Because Katie,

You now have that toddler.

Remain vigilant!

(for more "Keepin' It Real Wednesdays", click on the blue label below)

Valentine's Day Give-away!

CONTEST CLOSED AND DONE!


As a Thank You for reading my blog, I want to help you celebrate
Valentine's Day!

You all know Chad and I love to eat, and we love to eat even more when it is free!

So I want you to take your Valentine (or friend, or hey, yourself) out for dinner on me.

I will be giving one lucky reader a $25 gift certificate for:




Which allows you to choose from any of the following restaurants:

And, if you win and live in the Charlotte area (and I know you),as an added bonus, I will come to your house (without my stinky kids) and watch your non-stinky kids for free, so that you can have a completely free date!


How to you enter this giveaway?

Easy:

1.Leave a comment. If you don't have a blogger account, you can still comment, just make sure you leave your name.

For additional entries you may:
2.Follow my blog. If you don't know how to do this, look at the top of this page and there should be a button that says "Follow". After you are a follower, leave another comment that says "Follower."

3. Tell everyone on facebook about their chance to win this gift certificate, and link to the give-away. I don't care if I don't know your friends - they are welcome to enter! After you have linked to this give-away on facebook, leave another comment that says "Facebook."

Contest closes at 11:59 PST on Saturday, Jan. 30

Winners will be announced on Monday, Feb. 1, leaving me (ever the procrastinator) plenty of time to mail the certificate off in time for Valentine's Day.

Good Luck!

I'm just so excited!

Peanut Butter Pretzels

Our Aldi has these pretzels on clearance from the holiday season, so I thought I would give them a try. I was pleasantly surprised. The texture is perfect, and the peanut butter is nice. My kids can't get enough of them.


I picked up 3 more bags when the next time I went. I have discovered an even better way to eat them......

...thrown together with some milk chocolate chips. A perfect combination.

Anyone else a fan of salty/sweet or peanut butter/chocolate?

Brothers gotta stick together!

On Friday, every time I suggested Gabe play in the toyroom, he said with a scowl on his face, "Mom, I don't like that tiger."

I had no idea what he meant, but finally figured out that he was talking about the stuffed tiger that resides in our playroom. He expressed that he was afraid it would "come to life." Maybe too much Night At The Museum 2? Gabe is very tense about large fake animals, especially when there is a person inside - you should see his whole body shaking at Chuck-E-Cheese when they make an announcement that Chuck-E is coming out. Anyway, I wasn't surprised that he was spooked by having those tiger eyes watch him while he played with Geotrax.

I promised him that I would take it downstairs, and when I did, Oliver's brown eyes lit up. He promptly sat his diapered behind down for a ride, with a deep growl emitting from his throat. As I grabbed my camera, he sat batting his eyelashes at the camera. Colin decided to join in the photo session, so I now have a dozen pictures of Gabe's brothers consorting with his enemy.

Traitors!


On a totally different topic aren't Ollie's PJ's adorable? They are my favorite kid pajamas ever.

Give A Day, Get A Disney Day

Have you all heard about this program that Disney is doing this year? Here is a quote from their website:

We want to inspire one million people to volunteer a day of service to a participating organization in their communities. So we're celebrating these volunteers' good works by giving each of them a 1-day, 1-theme park ticket to the Disneyland® Resort or Walt Disney World® Resort, free. There's no better time to make a dream come true for others and let us make a few come true for you.

Chad and I were looking at the volunteer opportunities out there, and there are pages and pages here in Charlotte. You really should check it out. I think we are going to HAVE to go back again this year.

Jeppson Family Reunion at The Magic Kingdom? :o)