Stuff We Ate Earlier This Week

I am pretty sure that these pictures are from Monday, but I won't swear to it.

First up, lunch with the kids at Skyline. Connor the attitude of a teenage girl lately and he can be quite unpleasant when we are out in public. Ian started taking pictures at Skyline and Connor went in to full drama mode.

Connor really is a cute kid, not that you can tell it from this picture. He was embarrassed that I wanted to take his picture. "Mom, what if someone sees you taking my picture? Ugh, you are so embarrassing to be with!" He ordered a regular 3 Way and 2 buns with chili and cheese.

Here's my food - the Deluxe Black Bean Burrito minus the sour cream and olives but with a shit ton of hot sauce.


As we paid the bill, the kids each grabbed a Spongebob ice cream treat from the cooler near the register. Connor needs to get some more adult teeth soon to even out the giagantor front teeth that he has. Click on the picture, you'll see what I mean.


On to dinner - my sister and her husband came over and we got takeout from Grand China. I switched it up and got General Tso's chicken - made extra spicy. It was pretty good.



David got sweet & sour chicken with crab rangoon and Stacey had the garlic chicken with an egg roll. Connor ate frosting directly out of the package for dinner.

Tony Likes Attention - 06.06.2009

Tony loves the attention that he's been getting on my blog, and if he tells you otherwise, he's lying. On Saturday we went to Barley's for a late lunch and he and the kids spent most of the time showing off for the camera.

Tony was delighted to discover that Scottish Ale is now served in a pitcher!




Next up, ale washed onion strings.




Then Ian decided to make his "cute" face for me.




Food - Shockingly, Ian had chicken fingers.





Tony had the Barley Burger.




Connor had grilled wings with medium sauce. Connor arrived at this decision after much debate and several minor fits when he found out the the wings would be served grilled and not fried.

I had a turkey reuben with perogies on the side.

Connor Versus Baked Potatoes with Cheese - 06.04.2009

Connor loves baked potatoes with cheese from Wendy's. Usually he eats two potatoes plus a 5 piece order of chicken nuggets. Yesterday he decided to forgo the nuggets and have 3 baked potatoes. I didn't think that there was a chance in hell of him finishing all 3.



The challenge begins!


One potato down, two to go!


Two down, one left!


And the winner is... Connor!

What important lesson have I learned from this challenge? I've learned that at this rate I had better start saving my money now because Connor is going to eat us out of house and home when he's a teenager.

Ian's Recipe for the Perfect Burrito

Ian would like to share with all of the internets his recipe for a perfect burrito.



Step 1, take a soft taco sized flour tortilla out of the package.

Step 2, microwave the tortilla for 15 seconds.



Step 3, fill the tortilla with NOTHING and fold it like a burrito.



Step 4, lay down on the couch to enjoy your "burrito of nothing" and watch Spongebob Squarepants.

Connor's 8th Birthday Dinner and Other Stuff That I Forgot to Post

The kids always get to choose whatever dinner they want on their birthdays. For Connor's 8th birthday, he picked Papa John's for his party and Skyline for his actual birth date.



Ian began his meal with a Spongebob ice cream treat from the cooler.




He then moved on to his mad science experiments. It started off with him crushing oyster crackers and added pepper and him politely asking everyone to try his "recipe". I obliged him. It wasn't that bad.



Then Ian started to get fancy. He took a little chili off of Connor's plate and some cheese from mine and added that to the cracker and pepper mix. This is where I had to draw the line and refuse to try his new "recipe".



We eat a lot of pizza. Here's some pizza from Jet's. Tony loves this stuff. It's not anywhere as good as a mom & pop type of place (Iacono's, Dantes, etc.) but it's good considering that it's from a chain.



Every few months I decide to make lasagna, mostly because of a grudge that I have with myself. My mom makes kickass lasagna and mine always turns out just okay, at best. Somehow I manage to dry it out during the baking process no matter how much sauce that I start with. This was no exception.



Tony was off of work last week and asked me to get him up a Big n' Tasty from McDonald's on my way home from picking Ian up from school. I can't even think the words "Big n' Tasty" without giggling a little. I don't know why, but it just cracks me up that Tony requested this sandwich.


This is a chicken pita from My Big Fat Greek Kuzina. Tony and I ate there a couple of weekends ago after David's 30th birthday party. I'm not going to lie to you, I was already pretty drunk when got to the restaurant (and by pretty drunk, I actually mean very drunk). I don't really remember whether this was good or not but it looks yummy.

9th Anniverary Dinner - 05.30.2009

Tony and I went out to dinner on Saturday to celebrate 9 years of wedded bliss. Funny, it doesn't feel like we've been married for 9 years... It feels more like 20... (I kid, I kid!)

We couldn't decide where to go but we wanted to sit outside and eat. We drove around the Short North area for a while and decided to try Marcella's.




We were seated pretty quickly and got a great table right by the sidewalk - perfect for people watching!

The ambiance at Marcella's was great and the food was good. The only downside was our douchebag waiter. I can understand that the place was packed and they may have been short staffed, but that doesn't excuse his shitty attitude.




We started off with a cheese and meat plate. I would love to describe the dipping sauces that came with the cheeses but I can't because our asshat waiter dumped the plate on our table and scurried off before telling us what they were.




About 10 hours after we sat down, and long after the cheese plate arrived, we finally got our wine.




No matter what Italian restaurant we go to, Tony always orders a Caesar salad and chicken parmesan. He will not stray from this standard order. I swear that if we ever travel to Italy that he will order chicken parm everywhere we go. I should also mention that Tony's Caesar salad had 4 white anchovies on top. Upon seeing the little fishes, Tony immediately pushed his plate towards me and ask that I remove them and place them out of his eyesite.




I couldn't decide what to get and wasn't too excited about anything on the menu, so I got the daily special. It was a saffron risotto with shrimp, sausage, and vegetables. Risotto is pretty easy to screw up and if it's not served very fresh and streaming hot, it's ruined. I pleasantly surprised by how well prepared this dish was.

Multi-Tasking - 05.27.2009

My lunch - Ramen noodles kicked up a notch with cracked black pepper, ground cayenne pepper, and parmesan cheese.




Fixing dinner and a snack - at the same time. As I was preparing chicken, potatoes, and corn to go on the grill the kids decided that they wanted popcorn.




This is my awesome popcorn maker. I love this thing! I don't love it as much as I love my Dyson, my blackberry, my dog, or all of the world wide web, but I still love it a lot.




Marinated chicken, redskin potatoes, and corn on the cobb!




Look closely at the chicken in this picture and you will see a meat thermometer sticking out of one of the pieces. Why, you may ask? Because Tony is paranoid that I will serve him undercooked meat and I wanted to prove to him that the chicken was fully cooked. A meat thermometer is also the key to not over grilling your food.



Tony cuts his corn off of the cob before he eats it. Why? I have no idea.

David's 30th Birthday Party and A Big Box of Awesome! 05.23.2009

My sister, Stacey, threw her husband a 30th birthday party last weekend. It was a ton of fun. So much fun, in fact, that I forgot to take pictures of most of the food.



Here is his spectacular cake that Stacey made. It's one of her many trademarks.




In celebration of David's big 3-0, Tony and the kids and I gifted him with a "Big Box of Awesome"! The fancy wrapping job was courtesy of the kids and I.



And what exactly was in the Big Box of Awesome?



There were several treasures that I purchased at a community garage sale at First Community Church. There was a vintage and unused children's recorder.




There was a 500+ piece puzzle featuring images of Mary and Child and John the Apostle.




There was also a wooden bound book of cocktail recipes that looked like it was published in the 60's. It featured an entire chapter on highballs, Tom Collins, and Manhattans!



The final, and best, gift.... An old Star Wars Monopoly game!

*We also included a gift card to Starliner Diner. I didn't think that it would be very nice to give someone a Big Box of Awesome unless it contained at least one new item.*

Ian Packs His First Lunch! 05.22.2209

Ian is in half day kindergarten which means that he doesn't eat lunch at school. Friday was Field and Fun day for the kindergarten classes and all of the kids went to school for a full. To help with the transition in to first grade, the kids all ate in the cafeteria. I tried to get Ian to buy his lunch but he insisted on packing. He chose to pack Goldfish crackers, Gogurt, milk, and a Capri Sun.


I spent the day with Ian at school and helped with the morning Field Day activities. After a couple of hours of playing outside in 90 degree weather, it was lunch time. If Ian looks sweaty, dirty, and disheveled in this picture it's because he is! He went to school clean and well groomed but was a sweaty mess by lunch time.