Dewey's Pizza

Months ago, we saw a sign down the street from where we live that said "Dewey's Pizza opening in February 2009."

We have salivated since.

We loved this place when we lived in Cincinnati and were sad to find they didn't have a location here in Columbus. We tried the popular California Pizza Kitchen and it did not compare at all. So we've been left without....until now. Not only did one open in Columbus, but it's within walking distance of our house! I have a feeling we are going to be here entirely too much.


So they opened on Monday and we were planning on going at some point this week anyway. With the nice weather today, we decided to walk up and make a nice evening out of it. (Don't pay attention to Madeline's flood pants. She's growing up too fast and her wardrobe hasn't caught up yet.)
We love this place for two main reasons: 1) the pizza is absolutely delicious 2) the beer selection actually satisfies Andy's palate, which as some of you know, is hard to do. We got a large with half Ryan's Inferno (their seasonal Buffalo Chicken pizza) and half Billy Goat (Olive Oil, garlic, goat cheese, green peppers and more). It was pure heaven!


Madeline had a good time too.

They have a window into their kitchen where you can watch them make your pizza. There were all kinds of kids and the guys would throw flour up onto the window. Madeline loved this!

I can't wait to go back.

Online coupons

I’ve never been much of a penny pincher and I’m still not. But that doesn’t mean I can’t save a few bucks here and there. We don’t get the Sunday paper because, in my opinion, the Columbus newspaper sucks and it’s not enjoyable to read. We get the Wall Street Journal instead. So…no Sunday coupons. But I’m discovering online sites that have a lot of the same coupons anyway. I went out and got a coupon organizer and everything. I sorted the ones I already had this weekend. I know, exciting stuff, eh? Now I just need to take the next step and buy items on sale WITH a coupon….now that’s serious couponing (i.e. TheGroceryGame.com).

I’m getting a lot of my tips from free sites like www.moneysavingmom.com and www.stretchingabuckblog.com. I’m getting extra coupons from CouponSuzy.com and SmartSource.com. I think there might be others but I can’t remember at the moment.

Then there is this underground world of CVSing. CVS has this program whereby you buy certain products and you get money back, called Extra Care Bucks (ECB). I think that’s it in a nutshell. There are whole online blog tutorials about how to use the system to your advantage. It’s super confusing for the uninitiated but I hear it’s super easy once you get going. I haven’t delved into this realm yet. I need to get my couponing down first.

We also joined Upromise which gives us cash back to put towards college loans. We don't have to do anything extra that we weren't already doing. We just buy participating products on our registered credit cards and we get a certain % back. Easy peasy.

Big Guns!

I knew I had a good reason to skip my exercise class today. Madeline pulled herself up for the first time. We were so excited. She did it like 10 times in row (after falling down on her toosh each time). Andy caught some of it on tape, but then she wore herself out. She only seems to use her arms to get herself up at this point. She's got baby guns of steel.

So then we immediately went upstairs to move her mattress down to the next notch. If we didn't, I would worry about her climbing out and falling. Even though she isn't quite crawling yet, she can still get around.

Happy Valentine's Day from Madeline

8 months old

We are dangerously close to having a crawler. We haven't even thought about baby proofing yet. Eek!

She's up to 3 meals a day now with cereal and baby food. And daycare just started her on an afternoon snack of puffs.

She absolutely LOVES to stand. Those new ottomans we bought for the living room are perfect height for her too. She'll hold herself up on one of those playing with her toys. We still have to be behind her in case she falls, but she'll stand for a long time

Also, today she growled at me for the first time. Yes, that sweet little face gets mean when she doesn't get what she wants. She looked straight into my eyes, got this evil look on her face, clenched her fists and growled at me. I'm sure my Mom would say I'm getting a taste of my own medicine. hehe

Life is so fragile

Nothing like bitching about my small bathroom and then posting something like this.

My uncle is being taken off life support today. Hospice is coming in but I don't know what to expect yet. I imagine he will pass very quickly. We are all at peace with this decision. He was looking at living in a rehab facility or nursing home with 50% brain function and all the stuff that goes along with that. Jim would not want to live like this.

For those that don't know, he was in a tragic accident only less than two weeks ago. It’s been a roller coaster ride since. He's 61 years old and worked on a golf course as a maintenance guy in Florida. Don’t let his age fool you. He was a young 61 and Golf was his life. Last Monday, he and a bunch of his co-workers were headed out on a golf cart. He jumped on the back and the cart took off. Somehow he fell off and cracked his head on the cart path in 3 places. It hasn’t looked good from the beginning, but everyone held out hope that he would recover. He was unconscious until two days ago when he finally woke up. However, it’s not like he woke up and was okay again.

He is surrounded by family and I hope he passes peacefully.

Sometimes having to share a bathroom with one sink to get ready in the morning for work is enough to drive me to divorce court. Argh!

Top on my list for a new house......a master bathroom with TWO sinks or at least 2 full bathrooms.

Puffs a.k.a Baby Crack

I worship whoever invented puffs. For the uninitiated, they are like little baby fruit-flavored Cheetos. They are wonderful for many reasons:

1. Madeline LOVES them!! Her eyes get huge as soon as she sees the container.

2. They keep her entertained long enough for me to actually get something done around the house. She likes to pick them up and eat them herself and she isn't too good at this yet. So it takes her a long time to actually get one in her mouth. Alot end up on the floor or in her seat though. (The dogs are her shadow now more than ever.)

3. Because of #'s 1 and 2, these things are my savior! She will be mid-scream and I can get her to quiet down in 2 seconds once I pull out a puff.

Some parents don't leave the house without at least 2 binkies in tow for fear of a meltdown. Me....I make sure I have a whole baggy full of puffs.

IT'S A GIRL!

My sister is having a girl!! Madeline is especially excited to have a cousin to play dolls with.

Now on to planning a pink baby shower. :)

I’ve had enough…..

…of winter, that is. I’ve been dealing with it just fine up until now. It’s time for old man winter to go away so I can stop warming up my car in the morning, having to bundle all of us up and trudge through all the snow. Good thing I have a lot to look forward to this winter to help pass the time a tiny bit quicker.

First, my sister finds out what she is having on Thursday. My bet is on a boy. Once she finds out, then I’m in full baby shower planning mode.

Then Andy and I are planning a trip to VEGAS! We haven’t been on a real vacation since our honeymoon almost 3 years ago. Everyone has been saying how Vegas is on sale, so we looked into it recently and scored a great deal. We cannot wait!! We’ll be gone for 4 days and I have no idea how I will deal with being away from Madeline that long. I can barely stand not seeing her when I’m at work. I guess I’ll figure something out.

Laughing with Daddy

A Day in the Life of M

Mommy's been slacking on the pictures lately so I thought I would show you how I spend my days...

I love seeing Mommy in the morning and always greet her with a big smile.

While Mommy and Daddy get ready for work, I sit and play with my toys.

Then it's time to go to daycare.

Don't worry about me Mom, I like it here.

After playing all day, I'm excited to see Mommy pick me up.

Then it's dinner time. I love Sweet Potatoes!

After dinner, I get to play with Mommy and Daddy. I love standing up now. Look at me standing all by myself.

Check out my new bathtub. It's comfy! And the duck quacks. hehehe

At bedtime, Mommy reads me a few books. Our favorites are "The Poky Little Puppy" and "Goodnight Moon."

The Cult of Motherhood

I read this today and just had to pass it on. It's hysterical and so true.....
_________________________________________

The Cult of Motherhood
Come, join us...By Kristen Chase

I hate to be the one to break this to you, but we moms have more in common with Katie Holmes than we'd like to think. That’s right. Because when we popped out that kid, we got an automatic membership to a special cult of our very own.

It’s called "THE NAP".

Don’t try and tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about because I’ve seen you. And it’s sucked you in too. Hell, I’ve been a card-carrying worshipper since 2004.

Sure. We don’t wear crazy white sheets, sport bad blue running shoes circa 1982, or shave our heads, but on some days, I’m thinking those would look better than my 3-day old gauchos, Old Navy shirt, and inside-out underpants.

Why do you not change your white sheets disguised in way-too-clingy-to-my-roly-ass stretch pants you ask? It’s because I’ve been brainwashed. And all I can think about is THE NAP.

Membership to THE NAP is for the kids-only crowd. If you don’t have kids, then you just don’t get it. They ask us “What’s this NAP you speak of? Why does it rule your life? You’ve got to just get out from under THE NAP.

But we know. And we laugh at them. GET OUT FROM UNDER THE NAP? Have you lost your fucking mind?

THE NAP RULES MY LIFE. THE NAP RULES MY LIFE.

It plays over in my head like a broken Best of John Denver record. THE NAP makes us do crazy things, like weird hip-rotating dances and bizarre rituals such as turning on rain machines and walking in weird figure eight patterns to avoid creaky floorboards.

And we sing crazy songs like “Hush Little Terror Baby” and “Twinkle Twinkle, Take a Fucking Nap.”

It makes us weep uncontrollably and beg for mercy.

PLEASE GIVE US THE NAP. I WILL GIVE YOU MY SOUL AND FOUR PAIRS OF GOOD-ASS JEANS. JUST FOR THE NAP.

And you never discuss THE NAP with anyone - even if you actually see THE NAP – particularly the long one. YOU NEVER TELL ANYONE ABOUT THE NAP for fear that you will never see THE NAP again.

The presence or lack thereof of THE NAP determines the course of your day. But you have no power over THE NAP – it has a mind of its own, determining your fate in a matter of 15 short minutes or 2 glorious hours.

But if you do happen to please THE NAP and it shines its face upon your pasty white complexion thanks to spending way too many hours attempting the aforementioned NAP, joyous tribal celebrations ensue – dancing in the shower with actual soap, shaving of the legs and pits, hair drying, and eating. Eating of a full meal in one sitting.

So if you thought that donning frocks formed from recycled potato sacks, wearing a $26 single strand red yarn bracelet or birthing of children in silence was crazy, you might want to think again. Because let’s face it. That daily rock, beg, lay, and creep ritual you do in yesterday’s pajamas? Makes even quiet labor look the epitome of sanity.

Epic failure....again

So, as you might have guessed already, the Cinnamon rolls didn't come out so well. As a matter of fact, this might have been my worst attempt yet. :( I think it's time to hang up my baker's hat on this one and call it a day.

Cinnamon Rolls, take # 150,001

Okay, so maybe not quite that much. But I've tried to make homemade ones alot and they come out super crappy every time. It's a recipe from my neighbor who makes T.H.E. best cinnamon rolls EVER, so I know it's not the recipe.

Well, a girl from work brought in some homemade cinnamon rolls that were really good, so I pounced on her. (Side note: Who brings in homemade cinnamon rolls to work?!) Anywho, I grilled her on what she did and think I might have figured out my downfall.

I'm giving it another try this weekend. Wish me luck! If I'm successful, I'll tease you all with yummy pictures.

"I can't get my arms down"

Ya know, like Ralphie from A Christmas Story? That's what M was screaming at me this morning in baby speak. I should have taken a picture of her. She did look pretty rediculous. But it's flipping 7 degrees outside! Sorry little one, like it or not, you are getting bundled.

Andy is playing soccer again!

He joined an indoor league and his first game is this Thursday. I’m so excited for him! Unfortunately though, with M going to bed by 7pm, I doubt we will ever get to see him play. :(

Let’s hope he doesn’t break anything. Last time he played in a sports league, he broke his nose. But this is a 30+ league after all. hehe (He will kill me for saying that.)

Playdate with the boys

Madeline had a playdate with a bunch of stud muffins this weekend. She was the only girl there.

This here is West man. I just love his hair! It's so thick and starting to curl. And he crawled circles around the rest of the babies.

There two sweetie pies are twin brothers, Will and Sam. They do look slightly different than each other, but I still can't ever tell them apart. I promise to get it right one of these days. They were kind enough to share their toys with the rest of the group. And since there are two of them, there were plenty of toys to go around!

And this cutie-pa-tootie is Jake monster. His mom and I have him and M as college sweethearts when they grow up. But he plays the field alot with girls in other play groups, so I better keep my eye on this guy. ;-)

Tag, I'm it

Tammy tagged me…

here is how it goes: go to your 4th folder (where your pictures are stored) and find the 4th picture….and post it. then explain it.

This picture was taken at the beginning of September when M just turned 4 months old. I got her dressed up for her monthly birthday "photo shoot" in her cute little skirt from Aunt Jackie. She was looking cute as always.

I'm tagging:

Sarah W., Kenzi, Liz, Jody