Chocolate (and) Chicken WIngs

Ian has never seemed to care for chocolate bars. He's always been more of a Pez man. Funny thing happened recently. Connor got a giant chocolate bar for Christmas and Ian claimed it for his own, much to Connor's dislike.

Here are my super killer grilled chicken fingers from Rooster's. The wussies that I was with (Connor, Tony, and Ian) had medium wings and plain chicken fingers.

Out of the park, grand slam home run!

I took the kids out to Iacono's in Hilliard for dinner last night. The meal started with a very contentious match of tic-tac-toe. Ian won several games, but was getting increasingly pissed off every time that he lost. I could see a shouting match brewing so I finally had to take the activity/coloring book away.

Ian ordered chicken fingers, Connor had an Italian sub, and we all shared a pizza (1/2 cheese, 1/2 sausage and mushroom). Connor and I had the following discussion regarding the quality of the food:

Connor: "Mom, how do you think the food is tonight?"
Me: "Amazing, I think that they hit it out of the park."
Connor: "Like, a home run?"
Me: "Yeah, it's a good thing. Like a home run for food"
Connor: "Ahhh, well then this is a grand slam home run. An out of the park, grand slam. Oh - it's a walk-off, out of the park, grand slam!"

Hayride, Pumpkins, and Massive Allergy Attacks

Every year, the kids' school has a fundraiser at Kuhlwein's in Hilliard. There is a hayride (allergies), corn maze (allergies), a depressing petting zoo (allergies), feral animals (danger! and allergies), and a cookout. Have I mentioned that we all have allergies? I'm not one to begrudge my spawn an evening with their classmates at a school function, so we always attend the yearly event.

You are looking at the main attraction at the petting zoo. This poor little calf looked miserable. The only other members of the petting zoo were 4 small rabbits cramped in a cage together.

The kids liked the hot dog roast and sitting on seats made of allergens while they enjoyed their food.

Pumpkins!

My god, Ian really needs a haircut! Or some hair product to control that mess. Or a headband.

Ah, the corn maze. The kids really look forward to this particular attraction every year.

A good time was had by all. And when we got home, everyone had to take a heavy dose of Zyrtec, shower, and change clothes. Seriously, we are very sensitive to the outdoors! We are an inside family!

More Pictures From St. Louis

Here are some more pictures from St Louis.




Tony is thisclose to being banned from the blog. He hams it up for the camera at every possible opportunity.



Chicken quesadilla. The food at this little brewpub was really good. So was the beer.



Connor with onion rings as big as his head.



Ian and some chicken.



F*cking Jeff Hard strikes again. Enough already, Ian.

Mom of the Year

Connor and Ian's first day back to school! Ian is in first grade and Connor is in third. Ian is obsessed with WWE Wrestling nowadays and his favorite wrestler is Jeff Hardy. That thing that Ian is doing with his hands in this picture is apparently Jeff Hardy's "sign". I am developing a deep resentment against the WWE and Jeff Hardy just for the simple fact that the damn "sign" is ruining every picture that I have taken of Ian in the past 4 weeks. He feels compelled to throw that hand gesture in every photo.




Here's what they packed for lunch. My little manorexics can be picky eaters. Every single sandwich, piece of fruit, and slice of cheese that I have sent to school with Connor has been returned to me uneaten. Connor and I battled over the contents of his lunch box for the entire first grade school year. By second grade, I had given up. They eat pretty well for breakfast and dinner. Lunch, not so much.

O'Charley's is no longer permanently banned - Father's Day

I have hated O'Charley's every since we ate there 9 years ago when I was very pregnant. It took me forever to get a soda, despite the fact that everyone else at the table had their beers served to them already. Everyone at the table got their meals served well ahead of mine. AND they had chicken parmesan topped with SWISS cheese on their menu. That's three strikes against them and that's all that it takes to get a restaurant placed on my "permanently banned" list.

On Father's Day, we tried to go to Frisch's for breakfast with my mom and stepdad. The line was too long and Steve and Tony suggested O'Charley's. It was their day, so I agreed.




I hate to admit it, but the food was good and the service was fine. I had a southwest chicken salad. I liked it.




Tony had a black & blue salad. It was enormous.




Ian ordered pancakes AND chicken tenders with french fries. I knew that there was no way in hell that he could eat that much food, but it was easier to let him order both than to hear him whine.




Connor had a waffle.




My mom had an omelet. This picture cracks me up. My mom looks like she's working her ass off just to cut her eggs. MOM - use a knife next time!




Steve had two eggs over easy, a double order of bacon, toast, and potatoes. One strike for O'Charley's - the server forgot to bring his extra bacon. He got it eventually, but was still charged for it.




My kids have this great scam going. Every time that they spend the night with my mom and Steve, she either buys them a toy or gives them money so that I can take them to get a toy. It's a win/win! I get to offload my spawn for a night AND they get paid! Here is Ian with his $12 from Grammy that he "earned" by spending the previous night at her place.

This Is Not Going To End Well For Me - 6.15.2009

Clearly, I've lost my mind. I took the kids to Play It Again Sports today to buy a few tennis rackets. Ian opted not to purchase a tennis racquet and instead asked to buy a pair of boxing gloves. As the adult in this situation, I should have put my foot down and told him "no". But I didn't do that. I got him the gloves and two punching mitts. I am 100% certain that tomorrow I will have a picture to post of the black eye that Ian will be giving me later today.




Then we went to BW3.




Connor's a little punk.



And so is Ian.




And it probably wasn't a good idea for me to order the Wild sauce. It made my nose run while I was eating and my stomach starting burning shortly thereafter.