The Anti Super Bowl Sunday

Hubby is still away on his “work” trip.  For the first time maybe ever, I find myself with no plans for Super Bowl Sunday!  Am I sad about this?  Not really.  Usually we are the party throwers and the organizers of the parties. (although we haven’t been very good about it lately)  As much as I love being the hostesses, I have to admit I hate the cleaning that comes with it.  Lazy?  Maybe,  So no cleaning, no cooking, no party!

So what’s a girl to do on Super Bowl Sunday, her Hubby away and two pre-teen girls to educate on the finer points of football?  Have an Anti Super Bowl Party for three of course.

Here’s the plan:

Football game turned on so we don’t miss any of the important stuff.  You know, the commercials and the half time show. 

During the actual football throwing and catching part we will do the fun girl stuff!

-Finger nail painting

-Cookie Baking.  This idea from McCormick.com!

-Mozzarella stick eating.  Love these ready to go numbers from M&M Meat Shops.

-On line Shopping…uh for warm clothes, because football is played outside and it's cold out there, so all good fans need to be prepared with a new cardy (and maybe some boots and a scarf) ! No better place to shop then Banana Republic because this weekend they are giving a “Quarter Back”.  That’s 25% off and sticks to my football theme!

Yes, it is decided.  Nail painting, baking, eating and shopping.  This may prove to be one of the best Super Bowl Sunday’s of them all! 

Hope you all enjoy your day!  Oh and Go Manning! 

Seeking Revenge On The Dude Who Parks In The Drop Off Only Zone

My Hubby is away.  He is on a “work” vacation.   Yah, five minutes discussing work followed by six rounds of golf, seven marathon card games and a ridiculous amount of eating and drinking. I’m okay with it.  Really.

I’m just tired and as it turns out, a tad whiny. 

Want to hear something ironic?  When the Hubby is here I complain that I can’t sleep because he snores so damn loud.  When he’s not here, I can’t sleep because the house is too quiet.  Gee, waffle much?

Anyway, this lack of sleep, this single parenting, doing all the driving, all the cooking (oh did I ever mention that the Hubs does a good deal of the cooking thus creating a super spoiled wife) and all the EVERYTHING is making me a tad short tempered. 

When I pulled into the parking lot to pick my girls up after school, my head was pounding, I was cold and miffed because it was snowing again stupid groundhog knows nothing and there he was….. “the I don’t care about the rules, I am completely self involved and I will park wherever the bleep I want man”.  I actually just refer to him as Pervy BMW Guy, because he’s got that going for him too.  This man, he parks WHERE EVER he wants with no regard for children’s safety, rules of the road, or just plain old common courtesy. 

Handicapped spot.  He parks there. 

Principals spot.  He parks there. 

Block the busses in?  Yep, that’s him. 

Today, when I got to the school, Pervy BMW Guy was blocking the Pick Up Only area of the parking lot.  It’s pretty self explanatory.  It’s PICK UP ONLY.  You drive up, pick up, get out of there.  Not park your slimy butt there and stare at all the Mama’s butts as they hustle out of their cars to get their children.  Sigh.  Rude. 

I circled around the crowded school parking lot twice.  My girls came skipping  out of school and into the pick up only area. I pulled behind Pervy BMW Guy and promptly got good and blocked in.  I counted to 10.  Still blocked in.  I gave him a little wave to get him to move forward.  Nope, still blocked in.  Then I did what every over tired, super grumpy, cold, headachy Mama in the suburbs would do…... I leaned on that horn with all my might and threw that perv the finger! 

Bah!  No I didn’t, but I did grind my teeth and toot my little Volvo horn.

Such a chicken rebel. 

Next steps, plotting real revenge on all who cross the Mama’s  by blocking the Pick Up Only.  All ideas welcome, cause clearly I need help.

The Driven To Quit Challenge – Win A Car!

Are you a smoker? Do you know a smoker?

When I was growing up I had a few smokers in my family. They grew up in tobacco country, everybody farmed tobacco, worked tobacco and they smoked. It’s just the way it was. However, it didn’t stop “young me” from sneaking around, scheming with my sister and plotting ways to get my loved one’s to quit. We stole their cigarettes, we reasoned, we begged. What we didn’t understand was that two little girls were never going to be able to provide powerful enough incentive to butt out.

I wish this challenge had been around….

I have just been introduced to The Driven To Quit Challenge and I'm thrilled to help spread the word. This my smoking friends, this may just be the incentive you’ve been waiting for. Check this out:

The Driven to Quit Challenge invites Ontario tobacco users to break their addiction and earn a chance to win a new car, a dream vacation or cash!

Hello? A new car!!

Who can enter?

This challenge is open to residents of Ontario, over the age of 19, who have used tobacco for at least once a week for a minimum of 10 months in 2011, and 100 times in your life. It’s being hosted by the Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Division and funded by the Government of Ontario.

What can you win?

Ready for this!! You can win a choice of a new Ford Fusion hybrid or Ford Edge. Other prizes include two $5,000 CAA travel vouchers and seven prizes of $2,000 cash!

Below are some pictures from the launch day!

So what do you have to do?

Get registered by February 29, 2012.

Quit smoking by or before March 1st, and stay tobacco free for the month of March.

A couple of rules of course:

The Driven to Quit Challenge asks that all who participate sign up with a support buddy. Your buddy has a chance to win $200 cash! All other rules can be found here.

To register, and for further details about The Driven to Quit Challenge, Ontarians can go to www.DrivenToQuit.ca

Registration is only open until February 29, 2012.

So what are you waiting for? It’s time to quit!

Disclosure: The previous is a sponsored post, however the opinions reflected are my own.

Our Mantra

This sign hangs in my kitchen. 

It serves as a daily reminder of a promise made, and blessings that abound. 

In our marriage, with our family and our closest of friends,

one thing remains certain.  Love….

Forever and Always and no Matter What.

Impulse Purchases equals . . . Granny Panties?

Oh good grief it’s happened!  I was shopping at Costco, buzzing around picking up all the things a modern Mama needs to survive in the Suburbs.  You know, 10 pounds of chocolate chips, 36 rolls of toilet paper, 15 Chicken Breasts and 3 loaves of bread when out of the corner of my eye, I spotted them.  A package of six women’s briefs for less then what I usually spend on one itty bitty pair at my usual place.  I had to bring my giant ass grocery cart to a stop and take a look at the plastic tube that contained this sweet deal.  PLASTIC TUBE.  Huh.  Turns out I’m a bit of an underwear snob because this tube of panties was making me all kinds of dubious.  Inside the tube were six pairs of  neatly rolled up “Woman’s Briefs” ranging in colour from black to hot pink to polka dot.  How bad could they be if they have polka dots?  They were described as “Flattering and High Cut”.  Hmmm, I looked around the giant Costco, you know, to make sure there wasn’t anyone around I knew because I’m super mature like that, and saw the coast was clear.  Grabbed myself one of those tubes and threw it in my oversized cart.  No one would ever notice that tiny purchase surrounded by a giant bottle of pickles and 9 cans of tuna.  Proud of myself for my stealth like behaviour and effort to save money on lingerie, I strutted to the checkout. 

Later in the day I unpacked my newly purchased “lingerie” and what did I discover?  I was now the proud owner of what can only be described as Granny Panties. 

Crap. SIX pairs of them. 

 

 

Apparently “High cut” can also be loosely translated to “Urkel style, easily mistaken for a T-shirt,  or my kids could use them for a parachute panties”.    Sigh. 

This guy …he’s not one I usually take fashion advice from.

 

However, not one easily scared away by a challenge, I tried on my new purchase….and nearly peed in my brand new leopard print Granny Panties.  Who wears underwear this ugly?  That ride up so high they stick out over the top of your pants?  That your Grandma wears?  Wait a second….Huh.  Maybe Mamas who want to be comfortable? 

No NO!!  I took off those Granny Panties, threw them under my “giving up on life, I don’t give a crap what they look like because they are the most comfy PJ’s in the world pyjama bottoms” and made a pact with myself to never EVER wear them again.  Or you know, until it’s laundry day, and the Hubby’s away, and it’s really cold out and I need an extra layer of clothes to keep me warm.  But only then!

Sigh.  I am getting old, but not Granny Panty old.

Escaping The Cold at Castaway Bay, and a Give Away!

Lately is seems life has been revolving around what we “have” to do. Kids are shuttled from school, to dance, to piano, to gymnastics. Homework is completed, dinner is crammed in. Where is the family time? The down time? It feels dark all the time, life is hurried and we live in a constant state of rush. This is not what I want for my family.

When I was offered the opportunity to whisk my loved one’s away to Castaway Bay in Ohio it seemed like it was meant to be. Time away from the hustle, the bustle, the computers and the phones? Yes please. Sign us up!

Following a freak blizzard that covered our city in a blanket of horrible white stuff, the Hubby and I bravely packed up our girls, a cooler of snackage and we were on our way! Final destination, Sandusky Ohio, Castaway Bay, where it is always a balmy 82 degrees!!

We arrived and were warmly greeted by the Castaway Bay staff. Check in was fast and seamless. We received the key card to our rooms, ID bracelets (that also were our passes into the water park), and directions to the main attraction. The Castaway Bay Water Park.

My girls skipped down the hall towards our room, dragging their carry on’s behind them. Do you have any idea how cute that is? We entered our room, the Manatee Suite, and were pleasantly surprised by what we found! Ideally located just a stones throw from both the Crabbie’s Quarterdeck Arcade and the Waterpark, was our suite with a perfect floor plan for a family of four.

In the first Caribbean style room was complete with two Queen size beds, a television and a little table and chairs over looking the bay. The adjoining room housed a King size bed, a second television and an identical table set up. How great is that view! Oh if only it was a little warmer so would could have taken advantage of this fabulous outdoor space.

The King sized bed room also had what is best described as a mini kitchen! A mini bar, counter space, coffee maker and microwave.

The two rooms shared one big bathroom. The bathroom was showing it’s age a little bit, but more then did it’s job for our family of four. Tour of the room complete, we wasted no time jumping into our suits and headed to check out the waterpark!

Now I should tell you, I am always cold. Actually, I think I have been cold for about three months, but when we walked through the doors of this indoor tropical paradise and were met by balmy air and sweet Caribbean music….Sigh, I had finally found a happy place! So warm!!

We staked out chairs near the wave pool and got on with the business of enjoying our day.

Giggles in the Wave Pool.

Races Down the Water Slides.

Basketball in the Heated Pool, and challenging each other at the Cargo Crossing.

Countless number of runs down Rendezvous Run.

Exploring Lookout Lagoon.

….and the glorious hot tub. A hot tub that can seat 91!! Oh my word how I enjoyed that indoor/outdoor hot tub. Sigh…so tingly and warm!

Eventually we did leave the water park and explored the rest of what Castaway Bay had to offer. We feasted on pizza for dinner, created keepsakes with the cutest ever Castaway Bay T-shirts, and had the opportunity to meet Snoopy!

We checked out the gift shops and watched some talented little one’s sing their hearts out at Karaoke night. My little gamers used up their allowance (and then some) at Crabbie’s Quarterback Arcade, and we all indulged in some hot chocolate at Ebb & Edy’s Deli before we finally called it a night. So tired!

Castaway Bay was clean, incredibly well supervised with friendly and accommodating staff, and allowed you to set your own pace. Choose to laze away your day at the water park, or run run run and jam in the activities by taking advantage of the Spa, shopping, arcade, and all the scheduled family fun you and your loved one’s can handle.

We played, we laughed, we re-connected as a family. We forgot about the world for a while. What a gift. These are the moments my children will always remember, these are the memories I want to give my girls.

Thanks Castaway Bay for a great weekend!

Of course I can’t just leave it at that! What a horrible tease it would be to brag about my stay at Castaway Bay and offer you nothing! How about a little giveaway?!

Do you live in the Ohio area?

I have Four Indoor Waterpark Day Passes to give away!

Approximate Value $120.00!!!

*Please note. These are passes for the Waterpark only, accommodations are not included.

How to Enter:

1) If you would like to win these passes just tell me so in a comment! (and leave me your e-mail address!)

2) Want a second chance at winning? I’d love it if you would LIKE my Facebook fan page.

3) One more way to win! Follow my blog publicly and/or tell me that you do!

*Winner will be chosen using random.org. Closes Friday Feb 3, 2012. Giveaway is for day passes only. Open to US and Canadian Residents!

Wishing you all a warm and wonderful weekend!

Safe Travels

Mwah!

*Disclosure: My family stayed at Castaway Bay as their guests, the opinions in this post are my own and were not influenced by accommodation.

UPDATE
We have a winner:) Congrats to number 2!! You are the winner of the passes:) Have a wonderful time as you escape the suburbs!

I Can Be Bought

Sometimes money isn’t a big enough currency. Cold hard cash might be nice, but it’s not what this Mama really wants! 

After a night with precious little sleep I will trade you just about whatever you want for a Grande Chi Tea Latte.

Hubby, he can name his price for a back rub with no strings.

Kids want extra time at the computer?  They “pay” for it by being quiet.

He’s willing to take the kids to the Dentist so I don’t have to.  Now I owe him the world.  (I’m ridiculously scared of that creep in the white mask Dentist guy)

If Hubby needs a big favour from me he knows what tricks to try; dangle a love letter in front of me, build a big fire in the fireplace, sit and chat about vacation plans for the future, dream with me about all that is to come…..I’m freakin putty in his hands.  Pathetic. 

Does this mean my currency is coffee, backrubs, quiet time and love letters? Uh, Yep, all that and chocolate. 

You want to negotiate with me? 

Turns out it’s pretty easy, I can be bought.