86/365: Waiting

March 27, 2011

Every Sunday, my husband's parents take the boys out to dinner. Recently, they started taking Nick too. They call when they leave their house, giving the boys time to get ready. The boys then sit in front of the door watching for Grammy and Papa to show up. They are so cute.

85/365: Cars

March 26, 2011

Yes, I know, these are not all cars. But, according to my toddler, they are so I'm going with it for simplicity's sake. I was sitting in my chair with my feet up and along comes Nick with his various vehicles. Before I know it, he returns with cars and trains and Zhu Zhu pets and lines them up down my legs. He does this all over the house with all kinds of cars and trucks/

84/365: Meatballs

March 25, 2011

As my husband pointed out a few days ago, most of my posts either have to do with exercise, food, or school. I've been consciously trying to avoid that, but sometimes that's just what is on my mind. My husband is the cook in our house. I can follow a recipe, and my food usually turns out just fine, but cooking isn't really something I enjoy. He does. Well, tonight he was going to be out and I needed to fix dinner for the boys and myself. We had the fixings for spaghetti, and that's a pretty simple one for me, so that was what was on the menu. But then the boys asked if I could try meatballs (as that is what Kevin was going to make when our spaghetti dinner was aborted a few days ago.) I had the recipe, I'd seen Kevin make them before, so I thought I'd give it a try. They turned out REALLY good. In fact, when I packed up the leftovers, there were only 3 meatballs left! That's a pretty good compliment, I think.

83/365: COSI

March 24, 2011

Today, I took the boys to COSI (Center of Science and Industry) here in Columbus. It is a great place to explore and learn about all things science. We've been there separately many times through class field trips, and I took Liam and Ben there earlier this year for the traveling Titanic Artifacts exhibit (which was pretty awesome.) We even decided to get a Family Membership so that we can go any time we want. I decided that today we would go. Kevin had a lot of work to get done (after all, HE isn't on Spring Break, we are) so I got the boys out of the house to give him some peace and quiet. One of the permanent exhibits is the "Oceans" exhibit which has a submarine that the kids can sit in. Liam and Ben climbed in and looked around. They really enjoyed their day.

82/365: African Safari Wildlife Park

March 23, 2011

Our Spring Break mini-road trip continued as we headed East to Port Clinton, OH. Normally, a popular summer vacation spot for all of the Lake Erie based activities. At this time of the year, there are few things open for business. One thing we did find was the African Safari Wildlife Park. It is a drive-thru African animal park. We paid our carload admission and were given two cups of animal food then drove through the gates. We were almost immediately greeted by a herd of deer. They come up to your car and know that, if the windows are rolled down, you have food for them. They eat right from the cup. It was amazing to see these deer, alpacas, buffalo, and ox up close. Several of them stuck their heads right into our open windows! The boys had a blast and, in spite of the rain and hail (yes, it hailed while we were there) we went through three times! Each of the boys took turns sitting on my lap in the front seat so that they could have a chance to hold the cup for the animals to eat from. Nick really didn't want to hold the cup or get that close to the animals, but he did enjoy putting the carrots into the cups for the animals to eat from. I think we'll definitely have to go back when the walk-through part of the park is open.

81/365: Pollyeyes

March 22, 2011

We decided, after looking at brochures picked up from AAA and visits to the web sites of various convention and visitors' bureaus, that we were going to head to Northwest Ohio; Toledo to be exact. This was great news for me, as it meant we would be passing through Bowling Green, OH. Bowling Green is the home of Bowling Green State University, where Kevin and I met. One of my favorite places to go whenever we happen to pass through BG is Pollyeyes. They have the most amazing breadsticks. It was a tradition in college, that on the day my roommate and I moved into our dorm (or later, apartment) we would order Pollyeyes breadsticks. Now, it's a tradition for our family, as our boys are also big fans. Not only does Pollyeyes continue to offer our much-loved original breadsticks, but they have now expanded into stuffed breadsticks. This time, we got cheese-stuffed breadsticks, which aren't complete without the trio of dipping sauces-marinara, ranch, and jalapeno cheese. Yummm, I'm craving them again!

80/365: Chipotle for the Family

March 21, 2011

We got so busy planning what we were going to do and where we were going to go for our overnight trip for Spring Break, that time got away from us and we weren't going to be able to make dinner and have it ready without it being way too late. So, we decided to just get takeout. I've already established that I love Chipotle. Now, it's obvious that the rest of the family does too, even down to the littlest Carr.