moms’ night – Mom on the go in Holy Toledo

5 moms & NO Kids for 24 Hours!

June 18, 2015June 18, 2015momonthegoinholytoledo

Every generation has that “boy band” that all the adolescent girls swoon over. In 1950 it was, The Clovers, Ames Brothers, Drifters, Four Freshmen, ect. 1960/70, The Beatles, The Jackson 5, The Monkees, The Osmonds, etc. 1980s it was New Edition and New Kids on the Block, 1990s welcomed, Boyz II Men, All-4-One, Backstreet Boys, ‘NSync, 98 Degree, etc. And the legacy continues with One Direction & Big Time Rush. Though I enjoy and appreciate the talent found in all these boy bands my adolescent heart belongs exclusively to New Kids on the Block. I can recall a many lunchroom conversations in 5^th grade that were dedicated to New Kids on the Block. We would discuss who was the cutest (Jordon & Joey were always the top 2, mind you, my favorite was always Donnie), their latest song, dance moves, etc. So, when a friend contacted me back in January about seeing NKOTB in concert in Columbus on June 16th that little adolescent girl inside me was jumping up and down screaming YES!!!

A LONG winter and wet Spring later and the day has finally arrived! After much planning, between the 5 moms who attended the concert we have 13 kiddos who needed to have babysitting arrangements made, bags needed to be packed, pets watched, etc. The money, time, planning, etc. was ALL worth it for 24 hours KID FREE with my BFFs to see not only NKOTB but also, Nelly & TLC!!! Eeee!! It was amazing!

Hour 1……

Our first stop was Starbucks for a caffeine fix….there would be no going to bed on a kid free night!!!

Hour 3….We arrived at the Sheraton Suites where we busted into our suitcases, changed our clothes, added jewelry, freshened makeup, and ditched the mom persona and manage to become reacquainted with our pre-momma selves!! There we are, our light-hearted, fun-loving, kid free selves!! Looking good ladies!! Lookout Columbus here we come!!

Hour 5….Before we headed to the concert we hit a local famous eatery, The Thurman Café! It was featured on the Food Network’s, Man vs. Food for its immense, impossible to eat, grandiose Thurmanator Burger! FYI- the burger won!

It is such a cool burger joint. While we waited for our table we jammed out to some NKOTB tunes. We were totally Hangin Tough. Haha!

I had to get a pic of this….I can’t remember the last time I saw cigarettes in a vending machine!

The atmosphere was fun and the décor was, well, full of singles signed by patrons forever commemorating their moment in history. I LOVE it! Genius!

To forever commemorate the event we all signed a dollar and taped that sucker to the wall. So, maybe I will never get a Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame but at least I can say I have a dollar on The Thurman Café wall!!

Here is a pick of a burger that is a “baby” in comparison to the Thurmanator!

Hour 7….And finally, the moment we had been waiting months, years, and decades for, the NKOTB concert!!! Nelly & TLC opened for them and they were amazing!! The crowd was so much fun; everyone was up on their feet, dancing and singing. The majority of the peeps in attendances were female age 25-50, allowing their inner teenage self out for a few hours; some of those ladies were getting down. Lol!

As NKOTB made their grand appearance I have to admit my heart was beating a bit faster in anticipation.

And then they started singing….and for a brief moment I thought, thank goodness my 9 year old self no longer selects the music I listen to because her taste is questionable. But then they sang some of their old school classics like, Step by Step, Hangin Tough, Please don’t go Girl, etc. and I could practically feel my braces on my teeth again. Haha! Donnie had a blast with us OSU fans!! There was a lot of OH-IO and buckeye paraphernalia that he wore, it was awesome!!

I honestly don’t know if it was the music, the nostalgic effect the music brought on, the peeps I was with, or a combination of all three that made it a night to remember. I had the best time!!

Hours 11-24 shall remain in our memory….what happens in Columbus stays in Columbus. Truth be told, around 1:30am we crashed, we were so tired. You can take the mom away from the kids but you can’t remove the exhaustion of having kids from the mom. LOL!

Huge thank you and shout out to all you amazing peeps who made this evening possible, including the 4 amazing ladies who made it a night to remember, my magnificent parents for watching the kiddos, and my hubby for encouraging me to go see my adolescent heartthrob…now that’s a secure man! Lol! And a special thank you to you for allowing me to share this memory with you….who was your adolescent crush? Were you a NKOTB fan? If so, who was your favorite?

Homage to Halloween

November 1, 2012October 17, 2013momonthegoinholytoledo

I can’t believe Halloween is over. We had so much Spooktacular fun all month! I thought I would take a second to give Homage to all the fun had Halloween 2012!

The kiddos don’t get to have all the fun. I made these crazy brownies for a Moms’ Movie Night that included wine, pizza, and scary stories. Bonus, it was on an evening with a full moon! The fact that my hubby and older two kiddos were away on a campout made the night even scarier.

The kiddos gave their teachers these jars filled with candy corn for Halloween. Yes, it says Boo! on top of the jars but I ran out of white fabric so I thought yellow would be the closest.

While decorating these I ran out of black glaze. So I figured I would run to the store to get more. Mind you this was the night before Halloween and guess what? They ran out of black glaze, shocker right!?! So we went with the chocolate icing instead and I think those turned out better than the ones with the glaze. Funny how a mishap can actually improve the quality…I wonder what other mishaps have contributed to amazing results…like PB & J, what is the story there?

When it comes to pumpkin carving in our house tradition has been to have all of us together. We make it a fun family experience. We usually have Halloween music playing in the background and some pumpkin or fall inspired treat. In the past we have made candy apples, pumpkin pie, apple pie, pumpkin pancakes, etc. This year we strayed from tradition. (My hubby and older two kiddos carved their pumpkins at camp).Which I struggle with, I am slowly learning to become more flexible with the less important traditions as the children get older. However I refuse to budge when it comes to Christmas.

Our 5 and 6-year-old helped their little sister clean and carve her pumpkin, it was really sweet. I suppose I would have missed out on that moment if each had their own pumpkins to carve. There is nothing more precious than watching your children teach each other in a tender and loving way.

Halloween Day! We eagerly anticipated the Halloween parades at our son’s preschool and our daughter’s elementary school. Our son’s was at 11 and it was precious. I so enjoy seeking the munchkins in their costumes and the big smiles on their faces as they march past their parents and relatives. I also find so much joy in seeing the expressions on the parent’s faces when they see their little ones, there is nothing like it on this earth.

For Halloween evening I made finger food for dinner, lol! Hot dogs in crescent rolls, they are supposed to look like fingers, use your imagination, I had to rush it a little because trick-or-treating started at 6pm.

And I made these super easy and super cute white chocolate ghost suckers; thanks to Family Life with a Mom Who is all Hart. The kiddos loved them! I am seriously making these for the kiddos’ future Halloween parties!

And then it was time! Here in Northwest Ohio it was really cold and misty. So we bundled up in our winter coats, mittens, and hats. (Yes, I did carry a pumpkin pail but not for candy, inside it I placed an extra bag in case theirs tore or malfunctioned, as well as water, tissues, and the camera.) Under all those coats and hats is a Princess, Queen, and Red power Ranger.

We are so blessed to live near my parents and in-laws. We alternate whom set of parents come to pass out candy each year. This year my dad and sister passed out candy so that we could all go trick-or-treating together.

This house is so cool. They were on the news one year thanks to all their festive outdoor decorations.

Our toddler walked to about two houses then she started tripping over her dress so daddy carried her door-to-door until 7pm, he is amazing! Our little Power Ranger made it to 7:30pm and the champ of Halloween 2012 is our Queen, she made it till the end, 8pm!