Review: Applebee's Woodfired Grill Menu

It’s funny how life circles back around.  Some 30 years ago I became friends with Judi.  Our husbands worked together at Telenet and then Sprint and because we didn’t live too close together we only got together occasionally.  Some years later we moved into the same neighborhood, had children that went to the same schools, were both stay-at-home moms and still had husbands that worked together.  Often, when the hubbies were both working late, we would get together and pool resources to have dinner at one of our homes.  The kiddos would play and we were able to have some grown-up time.  It was awesome because one of the best things about being with Judi is all the laughter that goes on – she always has a funny story.  Well, as time went on, the kids got more and more busy and we began working and our time together dwindled to nothing.  

Over the last year, now that the kids are out on their own and successful in their lives Judi and I have rekindled our friendship by going to plays, parties and having dinners that have included our spouses.  But last night, my husband had to work late and guess what, so did Judi’s!  Well, cooking for two seemed silly so we went to Applebee’s to check out their new woodfired grilled menu items.  In the car we discovered that neither of us had been to Applebees in years so we were hoping the new menu would be a welcome change.  We were immediately greeted by a friendly, smiling hostess that seated immediately which got us off to a great start.

With our hubbies happily at work (ha!) we knew we had plenty of time so we started our evening with their Classic Combo appetizer that features mozzarella sticks, spinach and artichoke dip, chicken quesadillas, chips/salsa and, by our choice, Sweet Asian Chili chicken wings (other flavors available).  While we liked everything in the combo, the wings were sweet and spicy, crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside and finger-licking good! YUM!

For dinner we decided that we would order two of the wood-fired entrees and share them so that we could try more food – yep, some things never change – we both still love to eat!  We ordered the Sirloin with grilled vegetables (yellow squash, zucchini & red peppers) and Crispy Cheddar Bacon Potatoes.   We were both happy to see that our steak was perfectly cooked to medium, and our palettes were excited when the tender, juicy, wood fire flavor hit our tongues.  The grilled vegetables were cooked just enough to heat them through and add the grilled flavor while still leaving them slightly crunchy just the way I like them and OMG, the Crispy Cheddar Bacon Potatoes were really yummy.  We both agreed that these dishes were delicious!

For our second choice we chose the Wood Fired Pork Chop with BBQ Spiced Fries and Garlicky Green Beans for the sides.  The Pork Chop was cooked through, juicy and had a Cajun flavor similar to Old Bay.  It was good, but it could not stand up to the steak in our opinion.  The fries were hot and crispy on arrival just like all fries should be but we really could not taste the bbq spice on them which was a little disappointing since they sound so good.  The garlicky green beans had a really great garlic flavor and once again were cooked lightly and not to mush.  Three cheers for the Woodbridge Applebee’s chefs!

We may not have been eating at home, but we certainly were in a friendly environment.  The manager on duty, Thomas Kingsbury, was friendly and obviously customer focused.  He came around to the tables in our area throughout our dining experience to check to make sure that everyone was satisfied with their service and he took time to smile and laugh with us.  Our waiter, Conner, was awesome!  He was attentive, very friendly, kept our water glasses filled, and made great side dish recommendations.  I would vote for him getting the good shifts.

Judi and I stayed and nibbled on the leftover appetizer (it was huge and we could not finish it) and chatted for quite a while – it was awesome and left me with a happy feeling.  Nothing better than good food and good friends – thanks Applebees for bringing us full circle!

Lucky Leprechaun 5k

(Recap: My 2016 New Years Resolution was to run a 5k every month.  You can read more about that resonation and the races I selected here. Want to go with me? It's not about the time, it's just about finishing, so if you want to try a 5k but need a cheerleader, join me- I'll be happy to cheer you on!)

This past weekend, I ran the PR Race Series Lucky Leprechaun 5k at Reston Town Center. This is a really great race for those of you who haven't done a 5k before.  It's mostly flat, it's well marked, and it's mostly flat.

I'm sorry, did I repeat myself? My bad.  I just hate hills.

 Because my middle son had a hockey tournament in Ashbury the same day as the race, my sweet hubby drove up with me so we'd only have one car instead of two.  He was massively bummed that we couldn't stay for the after-party, which was, of course, at a bar.  It was a St. Patrick's Day race, after all!

  I got new headphones for my birthday, and I love them. This is me putting them in, because my husband takes awesome pictures :-/

I also got this new matching purple outfit from my son, which I tossed my really nice race shirt over.  You can't see from the picture, but it's a "technical" shirt, so the fabric feels amazing.  

What's wrong with all this fab new racing stuff is that it's not green.  And man, did people get into this race and the St. Patrick's Day Spirit!! Next year I'll definitely go a little harder in the costume department. I am seriously lacking in tutu ownership, so I'm going to have to watch for a sale.  Side Note: Does anyone know where you buy adult sized tutus? Or maybe you make your own? IDK. 

Also, the kilts.  For the win.

There were a good couple hundred (maybe even a thousand?) of my closest running buddies at the race, so plan to be with a crowd.  Again, the beginning is very flat, the only real "hill" and I use the term loosely, is a slow grade the last mile.  It's nothing you can't handle, even if you don't like hills, evidence: I finished in less time than my last 5K! Whoohoo!

There was also a short kids run at 9:30, which we didn't get to do because, again, hockey.  However, I did get a giant green bagel that I could only eat half of, and it sounded like the after party was going to be a good time.  I did not require the services of a porta potty, but there were plenty of them for those who did.

The only downside to this race was for drivers who didn't notice the ample signage that the roads out of the town center were going to be closed for the race.  There was one woman who had gotten out of her car to scream at a police officer directing traffic (who was not in the least concerned) because the race was blocking her getting out to wherever she was going.

The irony was that she was wearing a shirt that said "Run", so she's probably blocked some traffic herself.

And honestly, exiting wasn't hard.  There was plenty of free garage parking when we arrived, and since they require you to keep a 20 minute mile pace (which you can walk), by the time I got my snack and we got back to the car, we were able to exit quite easily and get to our first hockey game of the day on time.

Glorious :)

I'd definitely run the Lucky Leprechaun again next year, and next time, I'll definitely wear more green!

Thanks for having me PR Races!!

Review: SchoolhouseTeachers.com Yearly Membership

I know that not all of you homeschool, but I know that a lot of you come to me for advice about homeschooling, so this year I took advantage of an opportunity to work with the Old Schoolhouse Magazine's Review Crew to bring you guys some fresh ideas on making education work at your home.  If you don't homeschool, there's still tons of information available here that you could use to supplement what your child is getting at school, fill in a gap in their learning, or meet a need for an interest they have that isn't being met in the classroom. 

So, now that we all know what's going on here....

My first invitation was to review SchoolhouseTeachers.com's Yearly Membership.  This amazing subscription service offers over 200 courses from preschool through 12th grade.  There are classes on everything from math to computers to Bible to foreign language.  There's nutrition and fitness, geography, science, and even art! Now, as far as value goes, I think it says it all with the foreign language.  If you're teaching foreign language at home, or if you need a little extra help for your student, you can't beat the price of SchoolhouseTeachers.com simply based on their courses in languages! You can join for $12.95 a month, or you can join for $139 for the year.  A certain language course you can purchase that's named after a famous rock (ahem, not naming names) is $99 for one level!

What I was particularly excited about, though, was art.  When we lived in Woodbridge we took homeschool art classes, which were fantastic, although with three kids the costs definitely stacked up.  Now that we're in Manassas, art instruction all falls directly on my shoulders, and let me just tell you I stink at it.  I was never a particularly enthusiastic art student, and while I enjoy a good craft for me, I find making art with the kids to be stressful! I'm never sure how things will turn out, I don't really have great ideas, and I just haven't really been doing as well as I could have with them in this area.

Courses are broken down for art by Elementary, Middle, and High School.  Everything is pre-recorded, so you can take lessons in any order, take a break, skip ahead, whatever works for you.  Since two of my kids are elementary and one is 6th grade, I decided we'd go ahead and try one of the Elementary options, which include South African Art Appreciation, Art Techniques, Elementary Art, and Everyday Easels.

We ended up going with Elementary Art, which offers an initial twelve unit lesson on Great Artists. These are very simple and easy art lessons that I can add into our day without a lot of fuss or struggle- which is important with our schedule! I love that they're really "grab and go" and designed to use what you already have.  Our Michelangelo unit, for example, gave us just a paragraph or so of background on the artist, samples of his work to look at, and a suggestion for an art project we could complete with materials that were already in our house! Brilliant.  I love that these can really be a "oh, we have time- let's do a quick art lesson".

Savannah is drawing on paper taped to the chair- we learned about Michelangelo and this was the suggested project to replicate drawing on ceilings- minus the scaffolding!

This was a big hit for me and my younger two, but my middle schooler was not impressed.  Too easy, he declared.

Riley loves oil pastels- that's a tomato and two peaches

Well, fine.  Since the subscription covers everything on the site, we'll just switch you to something else! For him, we ended up selecting "Art Techniques" which offers various 4 module lessons on different media.  Riley really likes chalk and oil pastels, so we decided to start there.  I like that these lessons are written to the student.  They tell them what materials they'll need, and they walk them through the procedure for what they are to do.  Oil pastels moved Riley from sketching the basic lines of a picture (day one) to a fully finished art work (day four).  Since he can read the lessons himself and use the teacher's examples for what he's supposed to have accomplished by the end of the lesson, this is really something he can do in his down time between lessons.

Next up, we are really excited to try the keyboarding and computer science options! I think that there is a bit of something for everyone on SchoolhouseTeachers.com, and we're really looking forward to exploring it all as we have the opportunity! I think over the summer it will be really fun to let everyone pick their own unit of study for enrichment.  I am 100% positive my middle child will be taking Geology (there's 2 units!) and will be super excited about it!

New Years Resolution 2016

I have given up on being skinny, y'all.  I lack the willpower to live off of caffeine and dreams, and that whole "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" thing? Obviously that person never learned to cook because I can give you a list of things that taste that good. I did 21 Day Fix, which I loved, and I felt really good and I did lose some inches, but I didn't lose a single pound.

Not one.

And that was incredibly hard on me! Don't I just want to be healthy? No- I just want the scale to say that I'm worth living.

So this year, I'm going to work on changing that.  I am not going to define my self-worth with a number on a piece of battery-operated plastic.  Instead, I am going to answer the question about "Just wanting to be healthy" with a yes.  Yes, I just want to be healthy.  So I'm going to run.  Before I got sick I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, and I'd like to get back to that, but I get wicked headaches now from my brain surgery, so I want to set myself up for success and not failure, so my goal is a 5k every month in 2016.  I don't have to get a certain time, I don't have to come in a certain place, I just have to run because I want to be healthy.

(And by "run" I mean "go".  My current "run" pace is some people's "walking" pace. That's fine.)

When I brought this topic up on Facebook, a lot of you expressed similar goals- whether you want to start walking, jogging, try a 5k, or you actually do want to lose some weight or whatever.

(I think you're just fine how you are, btw.  I've never known you any other way than the way you are right now and I accept you just like you are.  In case you don't have anyone else in your life to tell you that, let me be the first.)

However, if you wanna come out and "go" the course with us, I'd love company.  Here's the schedule for 2016, subject to change, especially since the race calendars I'm finding don't necessarily have commitments for farther out in the year:

The Tour de PWCMoms 2016 Race Planner
January: January 17, 2016 Celebrate Community 5k (Alexandria)
February: February 14, 2016 Run Your Heart Out (Fairfax)
March: March 12, 2016 Lucky Leprechaun 5k (Reston)
April: April 10, 2016 Heroes vs. Villains 5k (Fairfax) Family Friendly, kids run, family activities
May: May 1, 2016 Race for Hope DC (DC)
June: June 11, 2016 Twilight Festival (Ashburn) stroller friendly course with food/fun/moonbounces.
July: July 4, 2016 Firecracker 5k (Manassas) 
August: Date TBD Hoping they'll host the Starlight Run again in Triangle.
September: September 10, 2016 The Color Vibe 5k (Manassas)
October: Date TBD, again, hopeful they'll repeat the Columbus Day run at Leesylvania
November: November 24, 2016 Turkey Trot (Manassas)
December: December 31 Festival of Lights 5k (Centreville)

If you're looking for people to run with, a shoutout to Lake Ridge RidgeRunners and Moms Run this Town Manassas/PWC 

Annnnd....I think that's it.  To recap, you rock just the way you are, the goal for me this year is not to think my self-worth is defined by my scale, and we're gonna do some 5ks. Come if you want, I'd love to see you there.

Dinner...

I know that dinner tends to stress everyone out on weeknights.  Sometimes the day doesn't go like you planned it and you end up getting something not so healthy and not so tasty.  Sometimes, you're just done at the end of the day and cereal sounds really healthy.  Throw a banana on it- that's like, 3 food groups.  

We had one of those days yesterday.  I left my house at 9:15am to drop the kids off with my dad who was going to supervise their lessons while I went to the oncologist in Georgetown.  Off I drove, arriving around 10:50, which was good because the cancer center is under construction so I had to wind my way through the other buildings to enter.  I waited in the waiting room until 12:15, then I waited in a clinic room until 1:50.  Then I saw the doctor for about 5 minutes.  She waved her magic wand over me and told me to come again in a year, and then I drove back to my parents, got my kids, drove home, got a bunch of papers for my other job (yes, I have a "real job" in addition to this hot mess and homeschooling), drove back to Woodbridge, dropped them off, and finally got home for the day around 7pm. In the middle of this I texted my husband that I was just going to order pizza.  He is vehemently anti-pizza and said he'd be in charge of heating up something from the fridge. 

This would normally not be a huge deal, but we never figured out where to put a microwave, so warming something up involves preheating the oven, about 30-40 minutes of baking, and then service. 

We ended up with leftover homemade mac and cheese from the kids' cooking lesson on Friday and fruit.  

Typically I try to plan a little better, but this was one of those times where I didn't realize that my 5 minute checkup would take 2 hours of driving (well, that part I knew) plus 3 hours of waiting.  I had planned on being home around 1:00.  

So what's dinner look like at our house typically? I love seeing what other people make, so I thought I'd share our menu for the week.

Monday-Oncologist Appointment, Work Meeting- Leftover Mac and Cheese with peas, fruit

(Taco) Tuesday- Music, Drama, Gymnastics, Scouts- Black Bean and Quinoa Bake. This is great because I can throw it together even the night before and it just has to get warm.  I like to soak my quinoa, not just rinse it, otherwise it has a weird almost dusty flavor to it that is not appealing.  If you're going to rinse it, do it until the water runs clear.  If you're going to soak it, I recommend overnight, change the water and rinse, and then let it soak again until you're ready to prepare, rinse once more, and then cook.  

Wednesday- Blessedly event free- Grilled steak salad, baked potatoes.  Grill nights are the best because my husband likes to grill, so as long as I have everything ready to go, he'll take care of the outdoor portion.  We prefer the Alton Brown Method of Everything....so if you're still perfecting your grilling technique, I suggest you ask Alton. 

Thursday- Classes in Springfield, Hockey Try Outs, Gymnastics- Slow-Cooker Squash Lasagna.  I LOVE my slow cooker.  The minute pumpkin spice lattes come out, my crock pot makes a weekly appearance on our dinner menu.  I'll probably do green beans with this. 

Friday- Cooking Class at Our House- I'm teaching tomato sauce (last week I taught béchamel, which is how we ended up with Mac and Cheese) so the kids are going to make pizza for dinner with bell peppers, red onion, mushrooms, broccoli, and tomato. And probably the pepperoni they know is in the freezer somewhere.  The leftover basic tomato sauce will get used next week for spaghetti. 

Weekends are generally for leftovers, unless we're having a party which this weekend we are not...that I know of, although frequently we somehow end up with people at our house anyway- which is a welcome event anytime.  

What are you making for dinner this week? 

Minion Party!!

 This is Savannah.  She is adorable.  She also really really really really really really really really likes minions.

A lot.

PS- this level of writing skill is why I get paid the big bucks.

Oh wait.  Nevermind. :)

 So for her 7th birthday we had a minion party, which, apparently, many of you were interested in having also! So, here's what I did.  Above you will see a bay window with blue streamers and yellow balloons.  I also got yellow paper lanterns, which you can turn into minion faces if you want!

 I am a giant dork and make themed food.  These are "shrunken moons" like from the movie.  They were just going to be the white cheese on the white crackers (these are round Saltines) but Savannah likes pepperoni, so...our moon is red.  Whatever.

 This is the cake my mom made for my cousin. Yes, I said my cousin.  Second marriage, things happen.  He's the same age as my middle son.  It's his birthday, too, so they had a joint party :)

The interwebs has some cute printable info.  I liked this banana language printable-

I made pin the eyes on the minion out of posterboard, and I found the eye masks at Target.  I just cut the edges off so they were just eyes.

Yes, we are using a Griffyndor scarf I made for my son's Harry Potter birthday as a blindfold.  I forgot about needing one that was minion-y!

These gift bags were super simple.  Black paper, black marker, and the eyes are just the tops to Mason jars with an eyeball on white paper.

Minion bowling- we used spraypaint on empty two litre bottles.  Just a note- you'll want to make sure these are REALLY REALLY dry or they'll leave paint on your hardwood floor and you'll have a panic attack.

Not that I know that from experience.

PS- You're gonna want some Goof Off.  And maybe a magic eraser.

I am a dork.  I don't know what else to say.  Yes, I did Purple Minon Juice in the form of Honest Kids Grape Drink.

Same concept on the gift bags with a little purple feather boa to make crazy purple minons.  Our pinata was filled with cotton candy (it's so fluffy I'm gonna die!), necklaces, tattoos, and candy, and then we sent home a unicorn horn and a cup with each child, too.

I just bought the plates at the store.  I had a plan for really cute polka dot stuff, but my daughter wanted these, so it's what she got.

I am obsessed with the Party Co in Manassas.  It's amazing.  They had minion shaped pinatas, too, but they were a little smaller than I wanted, so I went with this one.

This cake is what you get when you inform your mom the night before your party that you want a "Girl Minion Ice Cream Cake".  I bought a pre-made ice cream cake from Harris Teeter, scraped the decorations off, and re-spread yellow on top (which I also bought from HT- they'll sell you frosting by the pound in the bakery and it's SO MUCH BETTER than that crap frosting in a can (and I am not apologizing for that stance- it's gross) if you lack either the time or the inclination to make your own.

We had a great time. The kids arrived, played a little or colored on some sheets I printed off, then we played games, had snacks and cake, did the pinata, and watched the movie.  The party ran from 2pm-5pm, and if we weren't watching the movie, 2pm-4pm would have been more than sufficient.

Kid Ornament Ideas

Remember that time that my husband didn't set up the Christmas tree correctly and it fell over and all my ornaments broke?

(Yes that really happened)

(Okay, fine, and yes, I'm just sharing that story because so many of you agreed that they're just towels....but it happened!)

Ever since that incident, homemade Christmas ornaments are some of my favorite things to get! Luckily PwcGrammy is amazing and frequently when the kiddos hang out with her they come home with presents for me! These ideas are all very simple and would be great for your house, or as presents to send to family and friends!

 Rudolph and Frosty here are super simple.  They're just made from 1.5 inch terra cotta pots that you can buy at Michael's! You'll need ribbon, white paint, brown paint, sharpie markers (black, orange, and pink), ribbon, brown pipe cleaners, goggly eyes, and pompoms.  You can use regular glue and let it set up, or if you have older kids, you can use the hot glue gun while they supervise- but you might still burn yourself....or maybe that's just me.

Paint your pot brown for Rudolph or white for Frosty.  Then, just let your child decorate! We added antlers and a red nose for our reindeer and ear muffs for frosty.  Use ribbon to make a loop to hang your ornament. If you're using regular glue or craft glue, be sure to allow enough time to fully dry before hanging.  Hot glue will basically dry instantly.

 Okay, so this guy is not so cute when you're looking at him like this....but....

HE HAS A LIGHT UP NOSE!! These are just tea lights wrapped with a ribbon scarf and decorated with sharpies.  I found the tiny tiny top hats on Amazon.  They're actually totally cute :) You could draw circles for coal or even regular facial features.  Be sure that when you buy your tea lights they already have the batteries in them.  You can find REALLY cheap packages of them, but then you have to buy and install all the tiny batteries, so just save yourself the hassle and buy them with batteries inside :)

Enjoy!

Yes, we really were THAT busy.

So. We bought a house.  We waited and saved a really long time for that house, and when we got it we were going to get a ready-to-move-in 4 bedroom. 

And then we got a really great deal on a fixer-upper, so we scrapped that idea and decided to be crazy instead!! Yay crazy! Since all I've been doing for the last few months is HOUSE I thought I'd share with you guys a few of the things that were good, bad, and ugly about the move and renovation, since many of you have asked me about how it's going or who we're using, etc.

Our home inspector, who, giving credit where it's due, was recommended by the Realtor (who was not my favorite)- was totally amazing.  His name is Dave Thompson of Equity Home Inspection, and you can holla at him at 703-470-9571.  I believe he's also a contractor, but the main point here is that he does a really really REALLY good job at home inspection.
Really. 

Let's start with the kitchen.  The dishwasher worked!! Sadly, that was the only working appliance that we inherited from the previous owners. The cabinets were peeling black paint, and the floors were broken ceramic tile.  Also, orange. I realize that's not a sentence, but seriously. Orange.

We used Luna for our flooring and they were very accommodating about ordering the floor I wanted for the kitchen- I wanted "luxury vinyl" which looks like ceramic but won't break everytime your kids drop something.  They had that, but not in the color I wanted, but they got it. With Luna, our experience was that the price was good, the products were good, and the logistics were really bad.  They didn't have enough carpet to do our install, they didn't have enough quarter round to do our install, and then they got glue from the kitchen floor all over our hardwood floors.  It took several phone calls, but they did eventually send back a team to fix it, so the floors look beautiful now, but it was kind of a headache. I hear that your experience can vary greatly depending on your install team.

Next, we (and I say we here, but I mean "my husband and my mom") refinished the cabinets using Rustoleum's Cabinet Transformations Kit. We're still in a "time will tell" stage about that, but we definitely had issues with the faux wood on the end of the cabinets.  It's also super time consuming, so if you're planning to use it rather than having to sand and refinish, you're not really going to save time.  They spent 45 hours doing the cabinets for our kitchen using the clean, degloss, two base coats, glaze, and top coat process.  The glaze is optional, but drastically changes the color in some cases.  There is a 100% satisfaction guarantee, but they won't necessarily email/call/tweet you back to respond to issues. They look really good except the small spots on the cabinet ends, and honestly, I'm so happy the island isn't orange that I don't even notice. On the up side, the kit runs you around $75 which is WAY THE HECK cheaper than buying new cabinets or having Sears come and reface everything for you.

For our countertops we used Granite and Marble Express.  They showed up when they said they were going to show up, they took their shoes off on our new floors without being asked, they installed quickly and efficiently, they cleaned up their mess (if you've ever had contractors you know this is a big deal) and the end result was gorgeous.  Well, I think it was gorgeous, you can think whatever you want. 

So for our cooktop, we had to get a cooktop with a downdraft because of the way that the kitchen was built, which meant we had to get a Jenn-Air.  If you are in the market for appliances like that (by which I mean "our kids are not going to college") Appliance Distributors Unlimited in Chantilly was incredibly knowledgeable.  According to PwcDad they know "literally everything" and can tell you each tiny little difference, every review that's ever been written about every appliance they carry, and while they only carry high-end products, their prices were really good considering what you're purchasing. Ted Ashby was the contractor that installed our appliances, and he did a great job.  703-371-4336.

New kitchen.  Yay!

Next, there was lots of painting. We used to really love Lowe's paint, but the new type of Valspar with paint and primer Signature kind of sucked. In some rooms we had no problem with it, but in other rooms it was like it wouldn't stick to the wall.  We used trisodium phosphate (TSP) on all the walls to clean them and get the crayon and the stickers and the food residue and the "I'm not sure what that is, just clean it" off, so they should have all worked the same. However, it all ended up looking really good, some rooms just took more coats than others.  Shoutout to Kilz, if you've never used it, because that stuff will cover ANYTHING, including black ceilings. Before:

This took one coat of Killz and two coats of white ceiling paint to turn into this:

The final contractor I want to share about is Victor Canizalez and his cell is 571-332-7728.  The master bathroom was leaking down into the family room, and so there was a lot of work that had to get redone, from plumbing to broken tile.  Not only did the bathroom turn out beautiful (this picture is from mid-renovation), Victor and his team ALWAYS showed up when they said they were going to show up, they were fast, and incredibly affordable. He came highly recommended from two friends in Lake Ridge who'd used him for various projects, and they were not wrong. 

This is just the stuff that we had to fix to be able to live in the house- we'll still be fixing things for awhile, but it's been a fun process to watch, and exciting to see the results! Have a favorite contractor? Leave a comment with their information below. 
____________________________________________________________
Disclaimer: Nobody paid me, gave me a discount, or even knew I wrote this website.  I just had a lot of questions during this process and I know people are always looking for feedback on contractors, so I'm sharing. 

January 20th "Day Off" Recap

We don't typically follow the PWCS schedule in our homeschool, but we decided we'd take yesterday off with the rest of you and have a little fun :)

We started the morning off with my reader meetup hosted by The Animated Child, which my kids were SO excited about, especially the boys, because, in a word, Minecraft.  Am I the only mom out there who really has no clue what Minecraft is? My kids were totally addicted to it before we even had it at home.  I'm so thankful to The Animated Child for hosting all the kids at such a special discount.  Their Parents Night Out programs are typically $35/child, and they had us out for $10/child, plus $3 for lunch.  It was such a fun opportunity and I hope that everyone enjoyed learning more about the center!

I have to remember to invite a photographer for every event I host.  My iphone pictures are horrid :)

As for our moms, we had a pretty good crowd- I should've counted- but I think there were about 25 of us.  Not too shabby for a Monday lunch! If you haven't made it out to one of these reader meetups, I do hope you'll join us in the future. In March I think I'll start doing a playdate type meetup and a moms night type meetup, but we'll see if I survive Silver Sparkles first ;)

After we finished up at the reader meetup, we had to drive to Stafford.

Stafford is usually where I draw the line.  I know that it takes me just as long to get there as it does to get to the other side of the county, but for some reason there's a block in my brain about going south! However, today there was a really great reason for me to man up. 

Sweet Scene Photography hosted a "Tea Time with Belle" which, for $15, included snacks, crafts, pictures with "Belle" and a small goody bag for each girl.  My daughter, Savannah, is almost 6 and she'd been looking for an excuse to get some girl time with a few friends.  While she's definitely mine (she shares my appreciation for pink and sparkles) she would rather wear pink jeans than a dress, but she did humor me and dress up for the occasion.

 There were plenty of coloring sheets, along with a decorate your own crown craft, and the girls seemed to have a lovely time.  I appreciated that the photographer took pictures before she let the girls start in on their teatime snacks (mini cupcakes, fruit snacks, and a few candy options).  It definitely helped keep the pictures frosting-free.

All of the girls got a few professional snapshots of them with Princess Belle (there was a library-themed backdrop) and there was also time for- you guessed it- iPhone pictures!! Yay!  I think if I did this again, I'd ask to have my daughter's group get their pictures together with the photographer rather than her alone- they were sweet, but the fun part of the day for her was being with "her girls".  All four of the ladies that came with us had a really fun time, and I definitely think this was a fantastic special treat, especially with the bonus princess time.  Sweet Scene hosts these fairly regularly with various princesses and they also do "Diva Parties" for birthdays. 

One note- if you decide to go, the studio is on the left hand side of 610 across from the Arby's.  If you pass Sherwin Williams you went too far.  There's a sign for the studio (it's in a shopping center) but it's at the bottom of the sign, and if you are me, you will be late because you passed the Sherwin Williams several times....on both sides of the road...

Luckily my friend told me she did the same thing, so at least I was in good company!

I hope you enjoyed your scheduled holiday- and that you enjoy your unscheduled break today, too!!  I know a few businesses are planning to open- but if you go please call first to confirm and use caution when you drive!
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Disclosure: I paid for my lunch, just like everyone else, as well as for my daughter's tea time with Belle.  The Animated Child is an advertiser with PwcMoms.com.  However, all opinions are my own and were  not requested by any company/business. 

Party Ideas: Leftover Potluck

Entertaining is one of my favorite things.  I love to fill our house up with family and friends and have a really great time.  Since we celebrate several holidays and birthdays between Thanksgiving and New Years, it's a good thing that I like entertaining, too!

However, entertaining for the holidays doesn't have to be complicated!  Last year, when I looked into my fridge at our Christmas leftovers (Day 3) and realized that I didn't have room in the fridge for anything new, but I didn't want to eat prime rib anymore, I decided that I was going to have everybody over!  A few Facebook messages later, my equally nutty friends had thrown some plastic wrap over their leftovers (and in the case of one party fan-favorite, grabbed a 12 pack of Taco Bell Tacos) and headed to my house for what would become the first-annual "Christmas Kotluck".  Everything I ever host somehow becomes annual.  In fact, when people RSVP "no" to things they frequently say "I'm busy this year- but when you do it next year, I'll be there!" Not sure how that happened, but whatever! I thought that we'd have trouble getting people out for a "leftover buffet", but everyone I asked said yes, and while you can't see it in this picture, we had over 30 people crammed in our townhouse for this between adults and kids! Half-drunk bottle of wine? Bring it over! Half a honeybaked ham that you can't eat anymore? Great! We had beef, so it's a welcome change!  It was actually really fun!

Unrelated Aside: Yes, Kotluck.  Because our last name is Kotlus.  I grew up with the last name "Schnack" and I thought I'd gotten over things like "I'm really hungry, I could go for a Schnack" and "Hey, Kristina! We're going to call your group of friends the "Schnack Pack"! Like Pudding!" and "Running, huh? I guess that makes you a healthy Schnack!" But noooooo, now there's a Kotluck.  Brilliant. 

This was BY FAR the best party I've ever hosted.  Nobody had to prepare anything, so everyone was completely un-stressed.  I threw a few plastic tablecloths on over every surface I could find that would pass as a table, everyone enjoyed someone else's new-to-them food.  We even all agreed to be horrible parents and feed the kids first before sending them off to play so we could enjoy "grown up" dinner! After eating, everyone stayed and played games until late into the evening. 

Even this "guy":

While I may joke about everything becoming "annual", our leftover potluck is definitely a new tradition I plan on keeping this year, too!  Fun, low-cost, and fabulous, it was worth repeating as a great way to have friends over without busting our budget or stretching our sanity to the breaking point!!  How do you keep your holiday entertaining simple and easy? 

(PS- sorry about the odd pictures- I forget to ask people's permission to use them in posts, which limits me to pictures without faces!!)

PwcMoms Christmas Cocktails 2013

I had so much fun getting to meet some of you at Bar Louie in Gainesville on Thursday night!! I had a momma email me in November and ask if I could please host moms nights, and much like everything else I do on this website, my response was "sure, why not?"  Virginia Gateway was so kind to host us for our first moms night out, and I think everyone had a good time! I heard great things about all the flatbreads and the spinach artichoke dip, and I didn't notice anyone's drink sitting idle, so I'd guess those were good, too :)  I will mention that Bar Louie is loud- so if you're noise sensitive, wait for spring and grab a spot on their outdoor patio- I love that they have that option!

 Syma K Photography came out to snap pictures for me so that it would happen (I always forget!!) and I so appreciate her! She was very sweet and right at home in our group.  Be sure to check out her Facebook page for more pictures and details on her family/event photography!!

Loved the couches- even though people stood forever!!

Drama Mama Cakes not only came out to party, she brought cupcakes with her.  I wanted to try a chocolate strawberry one, but somehow, they were all gone at the end of the night....hmmmm ;) I heard nothing but praise for every flavor, though, and I did snag a spice cupcake for my hubby, who said it was fantastic.  Kara (Drama Mama) does custom cakes and cupcakes for any occasion, and is such a sweet lady!

Giveaways!! You know I love giving stuff away :) Virginia Bliss from Premier designs was handing out jewelry (as well as discounts in our swag bags!), The Little Gym gave away a Parent's Survival Night (score!) and one mom got a really cute set of nail wraps and application tools from Jamie Vuong with Jamberry Nails, which are a chemical-free alternative to nail polish, and come in mini-sizes for your little diva, too.

Swag Bags- of course- Virginia Gateway was kind enough to provide these, although a huge shoutout to the girls that helped me throw in last-minute items!! Thanks to Lindsay Adams from Juice Plus (purveyor of tasty gummy vitamins!), Katherine Breyfogle of Perfectly Posh for the spa samples (additionally, Katherine brought me a glitter stick.  In case you haven't noticed, glitter/sparkles is the way to my heart. <3 a="" href="http://potomaclocal.com">Potomac Local
provided free copies of their community guide, The Little Gym of Gainesville provided a free class for every mom in attendance, Prince William Living tucked in a copy of their December issue, and Virginia Gateway also had some special coupons for everyone!!
I hope that you guys had a great time (I heard rumors of a Bunco group forming and I want an invite!) and that I'll see some of you back at our January moms meet up (details coming soon!!).

Thanks to everyone that made this night possible!!