Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Pop quiz!!!
Question one: What brand of detergent do Jenny and I use faithfully?
Question two: What sport are our husbands, my son, my dad, and Jenny’s brothers and nephews obsessed with?

If you’ve been hanging around here a while, I’m sure you knew the answer to those questions immediately! If you haven’t listened to us babble for years on end are a newbie, the answers are….

Tide and baseball!

And while they may seem unrelated, this weekend they both came together in what had to be one of the most memorable experiences of our lives.

Here’s the story.

As you may have noticed, Jenny and I have mentioned how much we love Tide once or twice . Seriously we’ve written so many posts mentioning Tide that it would take me all day to link to them all.

We’ve also written a lot about how much we love Tide Stain Release. Remember the time a purple crayon went through the dryer at my house or when Sophie spilled blueberry applesauce all over herself? It was Tide Stain Release to the rescue. Now, we both use it in every single load of laundry we do. Because, let’s face it – with kids, every load is bound to have some sort of stain! Tossing in a Tide Stain Release tablet ensures that all the clothes will come out looking great.

And baseball? Well, yeah. We are fans.

So, when the nice people representing Tide Stain Release asked us if we’d like to host an event to promote the Tide Stain Release Challenge at Great American Ballpark (home of the Cincinnati Reds) with a few of our closest friends, we were all over it!

Jenny and I have been to a number of events put on by Tide and we know they know how to throw a party, so we were expecting it to be great – but we weren’t expecting it to be completely amazing.

welcome!
I’m serious – it was absolutely a dream come true for a number of our guests!

We started with a demonstration of Tide Stain Release, and we had a buffet lunch of ballpark favorites.

DSC06419

DSC06440

DSC06438

DSC06426

Then we had a surprise visitor!
IMG_5155

IMG_5160

cousins with redlegs

(Please note how Jenny cropped out her arm fat in that picture, but left mine. Thanks a lot!)

And then… Mr. Redlegs led us down to the main event – batting practice on the field!

Needless to say, the kids (and grownups) were PRETTY EXCITED.

kate cheese

IMG_5224

IMG_5265

sam is ready

IMG_5273

sophie did it!

danny redlegs

emily bats

IMG_5344

IMG_5310

dugout dudes

Batting practice was so much fun. We each took a turn, and we each came off the field saying “I want to do that again!” We were batting on the Reds field. Unbelievable.

Even Jonah had a great time.

gangsta baby

It. Was. Amazing.

As we were getting ready to leave, Shannan thanked us for inviting her and said “This is a day that my boys will remember for the rest of their lives.”

I’d say that’s a sign of a good party!

When we got home, amidst a flurry of emails about how much fun we had, Amy sent this:

Just put P down and after prayers where Mr. Red Legs was included above Mom and Dad…she said “Mom, this was the best day ever.”

Ugh, melts my heart.

Our sincerest thanks goes to the people behind Tide Stain Release for this incredible experience. We will truly never forget it!

********
Have you tried Tide Stain Release? If you haven’t, you should! We encourage you all to take the Tide Stain Release Challenge on Facebook. “Like” the page and you’ll be entered to win a year’s supply of Tide Stain Release and Tide detergent (a winner every week!) and the grand prize of a washer and dryer set – 10 will win! And then follow the example Jenny and I set by buying some Tide Stain Release and putting it in every load of laundry you do. You will thank us, I promise.

Post to Twitter

Girls’ Night

Am I the only one who gets Hanna Montana stuck in her head when I see that phrase? “It’s a girls’ night, I’m alright, without you…” Sing it with me now.

*ahem*

Tonight (or last night, by the time you’re reading this), I did something I hadn’t done in a long, long time. I went to dinner with my girlfriends. Seriously I can’t remember the last time I did that! It was nothing fancy – just Max & Erma’s and half of us (including me) had a kid tagging along, but still. It was so nice to just sit around and talking, laughing, gossiping and of course eating with women I enjoy so much.

I felt so refreshed afterwards that I made a pact with myself to do it more often – and what do you know, I’m going to have the chance to do it again this coming Monday! And you’re all invited!

Jenny & I are hosting a One2One member meet up at the Dayton Mall Barnes & Noble this Monday, May 23. The fun starts at 6:15 in the cafe, where we’ll hang out with each other and have a private meet-and-greet with Kaira Rouda, author of Here, Home, Hope. After the meet-and-greet, we’ll listen to Kaira talk about her life and her novel, and then she’ll be doing a book signing.

Written with a bouncy sense of humor, this lighthearted novel delights the reader while delving into serious issues such as eating disorders and addictions, typical problems of middle-class America. Rouda will touch readers who can relate to the frustration of being sidelined on the field of life, never allowed to play and always needed behind the bleachers, until finally experiencing the joy of participation.

I can’t wait to read it!

And I also can’t wait to hang out (and drink coffee and eat cake pops – courtesy of the One2One Network) with Jenny, our friends, and Dayton-area Mommin’ It Up readers!

If you need a girls’ night, please join us at the Dayton Mall Barnes & Noble at 6:15 p.m. on Monday, May 23!

Post to Twitter

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Want to Read

I have totally gotten out of the swing of reading, and it’s time for me to get back to it! I’ve got a running list of books I want to read (I started the list on evernote but now I’m thinking pinterest might be the best way to keep track. Or maybe, you know, with a pen and paper.)

Here are a few that are on my list – but I want to add more so please leave recommendations in the comments! (and in case you were wondering, no these are not affiliate links, because I am too lazy to do all that on the off chance I might earn 11 cents that I would then have to split with Jenny.)

Also, if these books are crap, don’t blame me – I haven’t read them yet but they look good.

Without further ado…

1. If You Were Here by Jen Lancaster. I love all of Jen Lancaster’s books (as you might remember, Jenny humiliated me and I met her a couple years ago). This one is a novel, though, which confuses me because all the others are memoirs. But I’m sure it will still be hilarious!

2. Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Reg Keeland. I actually started listening to this a year or so ago, but I found that I couldn’t pay enough attention to it while I was out running to understand the plot. I need to give it another shot, though, with a real actual book, because I hear it’s a fantastic trilogy.

3. Bossypants by Tina Fey. Because it’s a book by Tina Fey.

4. Every Last One by Anna Quindlen.

5. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I actually own a couple of the books in this series, but I haven’t gotten around to reading them yet. Everyone I know raves about them, though, so I need to get started on them!

6. Transition by Chaz Bono. Because this stuff fascinates me (and Emilie).

7. The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee by Sarah Silverman. Actually it sounds like that book was made for Jenny – it contains her favorite subject!

8. The Love Goddess’ Cooking School.

9. The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes. I love Marian Keyes but I haven’t read this one (at least I don’t think I have!).

10. Stupid and Contagious by Caprice Crane. Even the title is funny.

So what else ya got for me? What’s on your summer reading list?

(BTW if Sweet Valley Confidential isn’t on your list, it SHOULD BE.)

****
For more Top Ten Tuesday, check out Oh Amanda!

Post to Twitter