I have never been more glad I found couponing...

As I was leaving work last Tuesday, I got a call from daycare saying that Sean had just thrown up 4 times. Phew! Poor little guy was screaming in the background and the first thing that crossed my mind was "I hope his tonsillectomy wound has healed"!! Could you imagine? Scary stuff. He was completely miserable and pale as a ghost when I arrived. He snuggled with me for a little while then we bundled up and drove home.

Once we arrived home he said he was feeling better, ate some pretzels and two bananas and slept all night long. Nevertheless, he could not go back to daycare the following day so (as his ever-helpful father said he couldn't possibly) I stayed home with Sean on Christmas Eve Day, even though it meant with no pay as I am OUT of vacation time. It wasn't until later that I remembered our policy at work...if you call in the day before or the day after a holiday, you don't get paid for the holiday. It was confirmed today - ZERO pay for TWO days!!!!! Awesome.

Dragons News Story with video

So much for an innocent baseball game...

If you go to a Minor League baseball game here in Dayton, there are certain things you can expect:
* Hot dogs and Dippin' Dots
* Expensive souvenirs (and that your child will want one of everything!)
* A family oriented affair that everyone can enjoy

Well, they broke tradition tonight with one of the worst brawls in local memory - in the first inning! After a few issues, a frustrated pitcher from Peoria, Illinois threw a pitch toward the Dayton Dragon's dugout, missed, and the ball (at great speed) hit a fan. An enormous brawl started with practically every player from each team involved. It was a terrible display of immaturity and bad sportsmanship, and several fans left in disgust. The rest of us stayed, waiting for the game to be restarted after they figured who was out and who was in. It was uncertain if there was even going to be enough players left to continue the game. OVER AN HOUR later, the game was (finally!!!!) restarted but the crowd was pretty mad and a chorus of boos followed every move Peoria made. We were in the Dragon's Lair which is across the other side of the field from home plate but my photos give you an idea of the chaotic mess...


The brawl, about half way through


More fighting


Reporters outside the stadium as we were leaving

These people are idolozed by the kids in the stands and it is very hard to explain to a three year old why it is not ok to hit, when this is what he witnesses by grown people he respects! According to the news tonight, the pitcher has been charged with felony assault which is a good start. How about a public apology to the kids that were watching?

It would seem that Sean is not easily led though as on the way home he told me "Mummy, when I am on the team I won't fight. I will say "Get out of my way, I have to play baseball". "!!!!!

Don't go to Mimi's Cafe!

Seriously, don't go. We went for a birthday dinner this evening, a total of around 22 people, including a few kids. There was nothing wrong with the seating, they accommodated us well enough. There was, however, a huge double door at one end of the room (of course, the closest to me) and instead of having nice, sun blocking curtains like every one of the windows in the entire restaurant, it had sheer curtains. Sure they looked pretty, but it didn't help that the entire time we were seated, the sun was glaring down into my eyes and with Sean seated on my left, made it impossible to check on him without shielding my eyes. Yes, it was that bright.

The last time I was there, they brought out a kids nibblies plate without me uttering a word. This time I had to ask for one. My soda was empty for ages before it was refilled. Yes, that's how long the food took - I drink slowly!

Next, the food took forever. Sean and I had a long day (though fun!) and we were both pretty much starving by the time our order was taken. I ordered Sean a kids meal and figured that it went without saying that his would be brought out with the appetizers, as most restaurants do. This was not to be. Amazingly, Sean's was the LAST meal to be brought out - yes, the VERY LAST!!!! They fed the starving three year old last and it was SCALDING HOT! Seriously????? This from a restaurant that I read about as one of the best family oriented restaurants in the country? HA! And, the fruit provided in place of fries was not kid-friendly. How many little kids out there devour honeydew melon and cantaloupe? Not mine. Give him grapes and strawberries any day.

Sean accidentally spilled a little of his milk and the server said she would bring some napkins for us (as the cloth napkins were somehow seemingly water repellent!). A couple of minutes went by with me constantly telling Sean to leave it alone, shielding my eyes from the sun the whole time.... Then another couple of minutes, then another couple....until I finally asked another server to bring some, which she did, instantly, from the cabinet two feet away!!!!!!!!! Grrr!!!

We had to ask for a dessert menu, it was never offered, and since I accidentally ordered a half size meal (did I mention that the menu was not very clear?) I was still rather hungry. She even forgot that Sean had a kids meal - he's not even tall enough for his head to reach the top of the chair back and she forgot he had a kids meal????? - so I had to remind her to bring his dessert.

The food was good. I will give them that much credit. The service however, was an entirely different story. Needless to say, I will not be back.

**Update - I have heard from Mimi's and they were quite apologetic about my experience. They were open to changes and said they will contact me once they feel that they have corrected the issues I wrote about. Will keep you posted!

** August 7th Never heard back from them again...obviously they weren't too concerned after all.