My Brother in Law Rob is famous! ;)

Cheesecake Factory Appetizers: MyFoxDC.com

FREE Spicy Chicken Biscuit from Chick-fil-A!

Would you like to score a FREE Spicy Chicken Biscuit from Chick-fil-A?! Well, you most likely can! You see, from January 3rd thru 8th, Chick-fil-A is giving away a limited number of FREE Spicy Chicken Biscuits to customers who make a reservation. (which I know sounds weird-lol) To make the reservation, go to www.getspicychicken.com and find your nearest Chick-fil-A location. Next, choose a date and time for your reservation and fill out the form. That’s it!

You will receive a printable invitation via email which you’ll need to bring to the restaurant. Mmmmmmm!

New posts coming soon!

With the holidays coming to a close I will be able to catch up on blog posts very soon! :) I'm actually posting a freebie in a few minutes to get the ball rolling.

Movies

On the 2 long flights I got to watch 6 movies! (3 each way) I never seem to have the time to watch movies so it was a treat to say the least. Here is what I saw:

Dinner with Schmucks--very funny-typical Steve Carell

The Switch-typical chick movie that ends as you would think but cute

The Romantics--also a typical chick movie but the end left me wanting one of those endings with 10 years later or something during the credits.

The Other Guys--typical Will Farrell being a goofball but he and Mark Wahlberg worked well together. Pretty funny.

Going the Distance--typical long distance romance comedy but cute.

Christmas vacation--classic movie but they took out my favorite line. :( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fyS5CLBgyM

Enjoy them if you find the time!

Hello? I'm standing here!

So being an American I'm used to standing in a line. We stand in lines everywhere and it sucks but it's the way it goes. Occasionally there will be some clueless person that jumps ahead but normally they are told "hey the line starts back here". Well apparently Europeans (maybe specifically Austrians I'm not sure) have ZERO concept of standing in a line. Last night we were waiting in line at a wurst stand at one of the Christmas markets and countless people just jumped in and ordered. Evan was telling me that's just the way it works but I started to get annoyed. First I tried to block people out and then I was "this close" to saying something....loudly.....in English. It was going to go something like this "hello? There is a f@&king line here!". At that point I'm sure things would have been muttered about "stupid Americans" but oh well. Thankfully I restrained myself and kept trying to block people out. We finally got our food-though we would have gotten it 10 minutes earlier had we pretended to be locals. ;)

Glad.....

Ok so my last post was about how I wish we had a Christmas market at home......now I'm going to tell you about some things I'm glad we don't have everywhere in the states.

Weinerschnitzel and large open air bakeries.

Basically schnitzel is the Austrian version of "chicken fried steak" but without gravy and is normally made with veal. I can't get past the whole veal thing but you can find schnitzel made from pork and sometimes (rarely though) chicken. It's on the menu everywhere. Very hard to avoid this yummy meal.....my mouth is watering now......crud.

On almost every corner here they have large bakeries. (and they have them in the subways-what goes well with a train ride? A large cinnamon roll of course-lol) Think Vie de France on some major steroids. You walk by....it smells delicious and you just HAVE to go in and have something. All of the rolls and pastries are better than anything in the states (even better than Wegmans!). I don't know why but they are GOOD. I would gain 20 pounds quickly if I lived here because of it. Crap. Now I'm hungry. ;)

Wish we had one at home......

One of the famous things to do at the holidays in Vienna is to go to a "Christmas market". They are very touristy but I'm sure a lot of locals still come to see the sights and get into the spirit. There are a few different markets in town but we went to the largest/most famous one at the Rathausplatz. I loved the HUGE Christmas tree and the massive light display. The lights reminded me of Freemont Street in Las Vegas. The market is open all day until around 9pm and you can find everything from food, crafts (like Christmas items), candles, jewelry and alcohol. There are bunches of punch stands where they sell various warm alcohol drinks. Some are made with wine and others with rum. On a cold night it warms you up! On that note I'm leaving the hotel now to get some more punch! (pics of the lights etc will get added when I get back-I'm writing this on my phone)

I wish we had something like this at home. I know outdoor craft fairs are similar but those aren't every day with a warm alcoholic drink you can walk around with. :)

Some observations from the flight......

I don't fly very often and long flights over the Atlantic-hardly ever.

I laughed out loud when they pushed the duty free cart through the aisle. They were selling various things of course but the item that caught my eye were the massive quantities of cigarettes. I know a lot of people smoke-especially I Europe but what I saw next took me by surprise. Written in HUGE letters on the cigarette boxes were things like "smoking kills" and "don't start up a habit that will cause a slow and painful death". Now I agree with these things-I've never smoked and being around smokers gives me a huge headache but I assume the airlines would sell more cigarettes if these things weren't written on the box! Too funny. Now I wish I had taken a picture of the "slogans".

The other things that is probably supposed to make you feel better was what I saw in the Munich airport. Now I'm all for airport security but they have multiple armed police men at the back sides of the security gates. It wasn't that there were so many that bothered me.....it was they were all carrying huge machine guns and their fingers were on the trigger waiting for something to happen. Yikes. I can imagine Travis going up to them chatting about their guns and making them all nervous. ;)

More later if I don't fall asleep first! (no sleep on the plane so I'm at hour 29 right now. :)

Quiet for a few days.....

Sorry but I will more than likely be MIA for a few days while I'm in Austria. I hope to get time but just in case......expect some posts early next week for sure!

Travis' new glasses!

Travis has been wearing glasses since he was 3. (he has amblyopia) Normally I had been getting them at an eyeglass place in Ashburn but it was crazy expensive and not very close to our house for repairs etc. Awhile back Travis lost his glasses and I mentioned it on Facebook since I was afraid of paying the $300+ dollars again. Someone (probably Kristen bc she does a ton of shopping there) mentioned they have glasses at Costco so when it was time for new ones I decided to try it out. They actually carried the same ones he already had (at a fraction of the cost of course) but being a 6 year old boy he fell in LOVE with the Spongebob ones. So Travis has new Spongebob glasses which cost me $108 and the old ones cost me way over $300. I call that a win. :) And excuse the super goofy picture--it was the best I could get him to do. :)

CRAZY hair!

Last week when we were at Amy's house I took this picture and forgot to post it. Something about the suede fabric on their couch made Brody's hair stick up all over the place! He loves crawling on couches and the crazy hair made it amusing for us as well! :)

Amazon-Cook & play Potsy-$8.99 shipped!

Woohoo! An Amazon deal on something I had been looking for but didn't want to pay ful price! Head on over here http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Cook-and-Play-Potsy/dp/B0038APAZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1292101262&sr=8-1 and add the LeapFrog Cook and Play Potsy on sale for $9.99 (down from $21.99) to you cart. At checkout, enter promo code M885TY3L to get an additional $1 off bringing your final cost down to $8.99! Plus, this toy ships FREE with Amazon Mom or Amazon Prime!

Furreal Friends for $4.60?

Wow! Amazon has the Furreal Friends Furry Frenzies Flurry in a Hurry priced at just $4.60 – down from $11.99! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003IWYDOG/ref=s9_simh_gw_p21_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=15KRC8J2CBN3Q64BCYPE&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

Plus, this item ships FREE with Amazon Prime or on $25 or more with Super Saver Shipping! And even sweeter, purchase 4 Furry Frenzies and score a FREE FurReal Frenzy Pink Ladybug with this rebate! http://www.hasbro.com/furreal/en_US/discover/news/Collect-and-Get-Promo.cfm

Waiting at the ENT

Brody is getting tubes in his ears in January! The poor kid has had either an ear infection and/or fluid in his ears since August! Travis' tubes were a lifesaver and I'm sure these will be too! He did enjoy playing in the lobby when we were there this am!

Amazon Lightning deal on Star Wars walkie talkies! Hurry!

So for the next hour+ you can score these walkit talkies for 55% off retail! I just ordered some for Travis for $9.99 (full price was $21.99). As always you can ship it for free by using the super saver shipping or amazon prime.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039X148C

Amazon Toy Story 3 Doodlers 50% off!

If you have a kid that loves Toy Story (or just likes to draw/doodle)this is a great price! These doodlers are great for car trips, the doctors office and many other places! The larger one would be great anywhere really and the smaller one would be AWESOME to stash in your diaper bag for trips to the grocery store etc. Plus, this item ships FREE with Amazon Prime or on $25 or more with Super Saver Shipping!

Large doodler: http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Disney-Pixar-Doodler-Classic/dp/B003B1ZHIK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1291681709&sr=8-1

Mini doodler: http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Disney-Pixar-Kid-Tough-Doodler/dp/B003B1ZHJE/ref=pd_bxgy_t_text_c

Great price on a Leapfrog fridge set-hurry!

Amazon has the LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Alphabet Set priced at just $10 – down from $21.99! Plus, this item ships FREE with Amazon Prime or on $25 or more with Super Saver Shipping. We still have this toy in our household and I cannot tell you how much use we have gotten out of it over the years. When I’m trying to make lunch or get dinner ready, this alphabet set is a lifesaver!

http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Fridge-Phonics-Magnetic-Alphabet/dp/B000096QNK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1291658185&sr=8-1

Hurry and get this before the price goes back up!

I have decided.......

I'm not sure who (if anyone-lol) reads my blog but I have decided to post deals or tidbits on kids things when I see them. I know I love a good bargain or advice so maybe others do too.

Brody wasn't really into eating any of the cake but he sure did love all of the attention!!! Happy 1st birthday Brody!

I'm in your face because I'm ONE!

Brody turns one!

Brody showing his cousin Landon some of his toys.

Travis is gladly "helping" Brody open his presents.

This drives me crazy but Travis thinks he's helping by holding Brody's head straight for pictures-lol.

I can get to liking this present stuff!

Time really does fly when you are having fun! Brody is already one!

Board breaking video

Kicking technique video

Pics from Travis' TKD test

Already?

I can't believe the holidays are here already! I am behind on everything and this blog is no exception...hoping to catch up on this and everything else in my life very soon! :)