Wendy's Pick 2 Giveaway

With shuttling my little ones between playgroups, karate, cub scouts, children's parties, and the never-ending lists of household errands, I spend a lot of time on the road with the kids. I try to always keep snacks in the car in case they get hungry on the road because we all know that hungry kids = grumpy kids.

But sometimes I get hungry too and those little cheesy fish shaped crackers just aren't going to cut it for me. That's when the minivan makes a detour to Wendy's.

Nicholas usually gets their cheeseburger kids meal and Rachel, who still can't figure out how to eat a sandwich without tearing it into 20 pieces, sticks with the chicken nuggets.

I usually have a hard time deciding what to get at Wendy's. I like their crispy chicken sandwich but also their salads, and of course, they have awesome burgers and fries. Decisions, decisions. Of course, it doesn't help that I have to make such critical decisons at the drive-through window while playing hostage negotiator because Rachel has just grabbed Nicholas' Lego space ship and will likely crush it to smithereens in the next few seconds if someone doesn't coax her into giving it back so she can grab her Strawberry Shortcake doll instead. How can I be expected to think about what I really want to eat at that moment when there is screeching and squealing in the backseat and major aircraft destruction in our imminent future?

Fortunately, I don't have to stress over making the perfect decision anymore thanks to Wendy's new Pick 2 menu.



What?

You haven't heard of the Pick 2 menu?

You must check it out! For $4.99, you get to choose one of their Garden Sensation half-sized salads plus one other Wendy's menu item such as a frosty, chili, jr bacon cheeseburger, soft drink, Dasani water, baked potato, or a chicken wrap.

Wendy's and TheMotherhood hosted a get together with some local Mommy Bloggers to promote the Pick 2 menu options. I had a hard time deciding which two delicious items to choose (there are 28 combinations!) but I finally settled on the Spicy Chicken Caesar Salad and a small chili. What a perfect lunch.



Would you like to try the Pick 2 menu for free? To enter to win a $7 Wendy's gift card, just leave a comment below stating which 2 items you would choose from the Pick 2 menu.

Want extra contest entries? Leave a comment for each of the following that you complete and get an extra entry for each comment.
1. Follow this blog with Google Friend Connect
2. Promote this contest on your Facebook page (one entry per day)
3. Promote this contest on Twitter using hashtag #WendysPick2(one entry per day)

Please, please, please be sure to leave an email address or some way to contact you in case you win. I may have hostage negotiator skills but I am no bounty hunter so don't expect me to be able to hunt you down to give you your gift card.

The contest ends Wednesday, October 27th at midnight. Winner will be selected by random number generator. Open to U.S. residents only.

I received a complimentary Pick 2 meal, payment, and a gift card to giveaway for my participation in this promotion.

Nothing Says Autumn Like Caramel Apples

Nothing says Autumn like caramel apples. Or maybe that's just an excuse to make something with caramel. Is there anything yummier than caramel?

We used the simple recipe on the back of a bag of Kraft caramels.

Ingredients
5-6 apples, washed, well dried
1 package (14 oz.) Kraft caramels (about 50)
2 Tbsp. water
Skewers



I gave the kids the task of peeling each of the 50 little individually wrapped caramels. Rachel couldn't do this without eating every one that she touched so Nicholas took over.



Insert apple skeweres into stem end of each apple. I found skewers readily available in the produce section of our grocery store, near the apples, of course.

Nicholas took care of removing the apple stems and sticking the skewers. It's nice that he's old enough to actually act as a real sous chef in the kitchen with me rather than just playing around and making a mess like little kids do.



Cover large plate or tray with wax paper; grease with butter (be very generous with the butter or they WILL stick). Set aside.

Place caramels and water in large saucepan; cook on medium-low heat until caramels are completely melted, stirring constantly.




Dip apples into melted caramel until evenly coated, spooning caramel over apples if necessary. Allow excess caramel to drip off. Note: don't let the caramel get too hot or it will have some air bubbles in it. This doesn't affect taste just asthetics.





Scrape bottoms of apples, then place on prepared plate. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until ready to serve. Remove from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature about 15 minutes before serving. Store leftover dipped apples in refrigerator.



Nicholas was excited to take a bite into his apple.



However, he has his first loose tooth and it was uncomfortable for him to bite into the apple for very long. We ended up slicing the apples for Nicholas and Rachel. Not that it really mattered either way to Rachel because she just scraped off the caramel with her teeth and left the whole apples behind on her plate.





Welcome Autumn!

In-Flight Entertainment, Toddler Style

We recently visited IKEA, a store with Scandinavian modern looking furniture and home accessories. But this isn't just any store. It's big enough to be it's own city complete with childcare, a restaurant, and maps of the multiple floors in the mammoth building. I've only been there a few times but it's always like I've stepped into another dimension because every single time I get lost and can't find the exit for the life of me. And I don't think I've ever bought anything from the store but, if you aren't in a hurry, it can be fun to just walk around and get decorating and organization ideas.

Considering the massive size of this store, we had to keep Rachel in her stroller because she likes to RUN every chance she gets and who wants to chase a toddler through IKEA?

But Rachel is almost 2 and has realized that she doesn't like being in her stroller that much. Fortunately, Stuart found a great way to keep the toddler entertained while we walked around. I guess you could call it in-flight entertainment, toddler style.

Last Day of School

Yes, it's only the beginning of October but Nicholas had his last day of school today...public school, that is. He started public school last year for kindergarten and he was bored. He was doing work that he knew in preschool and didn't learn much throughout the year. We didn't think much of it. It is only kindergarten. How much do they need to learn? But we expected things to ramp up for 1st grade.

They didn't.

I looked at the class work that he brought home and was disappointed to see that it still wasn’t challenging work for him. When we talked to him about it, he said he is bored. He said that he wished he could just learn something new.

I looked into the Gifted and Talented program through our school system but at this age, it consists of the child leaving his regular classroom for about 30 minutes once a week to meet with other GT students to work on higher thinking level projects. It does nothing for challenging a child who can read and work math problems at a 2nd grade level. In this setting, he would continue to be bored in class and would essentially be wasting another year without a challenge.

What about moving him to 2nd grade? He may be bright but he’s already younger than many of the other 1st graders. His maturity level just wouldn’t fit in with a 2nd grade classroom.

Stuart and I know that God has great plans for Nicholas and we have to do all we can to ensure that his growing mind is being fed enough to continue his love of learning.

We would love to send him to a private school with a more rigorous curriculum but financially it isn't an option right now. So we've decided to start homeschooling him. I have been considering the idea of homeschooling since Nicholas was about 2 years old. I knew we probably wouldn't be able to send him to private school and homeschooling just seemed like the next best option. Private school at home.

I’ve selected a curriculum that is used by many of the Christian private schools in the area – the very schools that I would send him to if we had an extra $10K or more a year burning a hole in our pockets. This 1st grade curriculum is said to be more in line with 2nd grade at public school so I think it will be a good fit. However, if we start working through the material and it still isn’t challenging, I can supplement other work into the day or even bump up to a 2nd grade textbook for any particular subject that he needs. He wouldn’t be able to do that in his current school.

There are definitely going to be some challenges that we will have to work through with homeschooling. I’m a little nervous but mostly excited about this new step for our family. I’ll write more about homeschooling later. For now, we're just enjoying this last day of school.

I snapped a few pics as we walked to school this week.





Eating an apple on the way to school because he's got his first loose tooth!



Yes, my big 1st grader still blows me kisses in front of everyone at school before he walks into the building!



I love this little guy!

Squeaky Clean And Oh So Cute

Rachel and I spent the morning playing outside. We got a little messy so we had to get cleaned up when we got home. Rachel loves bath time but she was late going down for her nap so I wanted to get us both cleaned up quickly so I let her take a shower with me.

Rachel has never taken a shower before. At first she was very excited and walked right into the shower with a big smile on her face. She felt like such a big girl! But once the water was actually spraying on her, she got upset and I had to hold her while I finished washing her.

Afterwards she was happy again because she got to wrap up in one of Mommy's towels.



She's used to her little hooded towels so she had me fix it for her so she could still have her hood.



I love how Rachel crinkles up her nose as she says, "CHEEEEESE!" At least she's looking at the camera this time when she said it.



While I was getting ready, Rachel got out one of her little flossers and started playing with it. I love her sweet curiosity about how everyting works.



I love this little girl with all my heart!