Well, yesterday was Monkey See and Monkey Do’s big birthday bash…. We had somewhere around 40 people here, and it was a blast. I’ll admit… I was stressed as heck yesterday morning, but once everything was all said and done, it was a pretty darn good party… 

About a month ago, we decided that we were actually going to throw a party. It was supposed to be a small, cozy, family and a couple of friends event. It ended up being a huge party. The fun crazy stressful part was that there were going to be some family members here that don’t exactly get along. Yaay… As long as everyone behaved themselves, I didn’t care. My whole idea is, if you aren’t here for the girls, then leave.. 

Anyway.. This past week was spent cleaning house from top to bottom, steam cleaning the carpets, dusting, scrubbing, you name it.. It had to be done. It was an absolutely crazy week. 

So, we woke up around 630am, when the girls came into our room to wake us up… We got ready, and dressed the girls up. The party started at 1100am. We had a few things left to do before then. I had to finish cleaning the counters, run a vacuum over the carpets, scrub the BBQ down, and start making the snacks… I got it all done! Our first guest arrived around 1115. Good thing, because I was running late. Once they arrived, though, everyone started coming…  There were people from our families, friends from Daddy’s work, friends from the girls’ play groups, and more friends from their daycare at Gold’s Gym… They were all so much fun to have here. 

Daddy took charge of the BBQ’s, and I was able to talk to everyone and play with all of the kids, fill up water balloons, and set up some good snacks. Yes, I said water balloons. We warned the parents that we’d have some water games. It was a must. It was pretty hot, so a good cool down would be fun for everyone. 

We ate a feast of Jalapeño Poppers, Hot Dogs, Bratwurst, Corn on the Cob, Baby Back Ribs, salad, and chips & dip… It was sooo yummy! After we ate, we let everyone relax a little bit, and then brought the kids in for presents.. The girls made out like bandits!!! They had a stack of presents here… it was absolutely crazy! They had so much fun opening everything, and they actually did a pretty good job of telling everyone “Thank you” after they opened their gifts.. I was so proud of them! 

Instead of the traditional cake, we had cupcakes. It was so much easier to deal with, and the kids loved it. It was getting late in the afternoon, and most of the kids were beginning to crash…  As soon as we pulled out the cupcakes, smiles formed, and it was like they had a second wind… We knew it was getting hot, so we told everyone it was water balloon time! The girls had gotten into the water balloons earlier, so there weren’t as many as there should have been, but, there were enough for them to have fun throwing them at their parents. The kids had hardly gotten wet, so I ran out front to grab our sprinkler.. and boy was that a hit… even some parents got in on that! 

After a good run through the sprinklers, and some awesome photo opportunities, it was finally time for everyone to go home. Most of the kids were super tired by this point… Everyone dried off, and said their goodbyes. It was an amazing day! I loved seeing the smiles on all of the kids’ faces. It was awesome hearing them laughing and giggling and playing with each other. Honestly if I could, I’d do this more often.. I just don’t know if my pocketbook could handle it!!! LOL.. 

Here’s a link to some of the pictures of the sprinkler time… It was great!!! 

So here I am at 4am on the morning of my birthday. I’m exhausted, but I can not seem to get to sleep. Everyone else is snoring their heads off… finally. I decided about a month ago that I was going to throw a party… because I felt like it. I wanted to do something fun for my birthday, but I didn’t’ want everyone to think I threw my own party. I figured New Years was a great excuse to just hang out with friends.

Anyway.. I’m going off on a tangent… So.. the party, yes.. We’ve been cleaning all day. We finally got the girls to bed, and more cleaning. I think we finally went to bed at 2am~ish..  As soon as our heads hit the pillow, one of the girls started whimpering in her sleep. I got up, calmed her down, and came back to bed. Daddy was sleeping… snoring like crazy.. UGH… I’m wide awake, and there is NO falling asleep no matter how long I stare at the clock on the ceiling.

So, I got up, cleaned the rest of the kitchen, picked up as much of the girls’ play room as possible, and basically got everything except vacuuming done. Here I am.. I’m really tired, and I have a lot of cooking to do before everyone gets here at 2pm. I still have no idea who exactly is coming. Not everyone RSVP’ed so whoever shows up will pretty much be a surprise to me. No big deal. Everyone knows to bring something to share.. sooooo.. we should have plenty of food.

I know there’s something else I should do, but I just can’t even think straight right now. I think I’m going to try to go to sleep, but I don’t know how that’s going to happen. I can hear Daddy snoring from here, and I’m downstairs. UGH. This is going to be an interesting birthday… Thank goodness they only come once a year.

The UPDATED Post is now kept here: Mommy Brain Reports

Everyone loves Free stuff!!!

I did some research (because I was curious) and found a bunch of places that boast free or discounted items just for being born!!!

I highly recommend calling these places prior to going just to verify that they are still offering these deals… They are usually up to the individual location’s management.. so.. CALL FIRST! Some also require that you register in their Birthday Club prior to going to the restaurant. If anyone tries one of these locations and they no longer offer anything, please leave me a comment and let me know! Also.. if anyone finds something that is not listed, let me know also!!!

*Note not all of these places are here in the Sacramento Area…

and.. without further ado…

USA – Applebees Restaurant
Free Dessert and song – all ages
http://www.applebees.com/

USA – Arby’s
Birthday Discount
http://www.arbys.com

USA – Austin Grill
http://www.austingrill.com/austingri…ill_main/join/

USA – BD’s Mongolian BBQ
Buy 1, Get 1 Free Stir Fry – Register Online
http://www.fishbowl.com/clt/bdscrp/lp/wb/join.asp

USA – Bakers Square
Free Pie
http://www.bakerssquare.com

USA – Baskin Robbins Birthday Club
Join the Baskin-Robbins Birthday Club on our website and get a coupon for a FREE 2.5 oz ice cream scoop and a coupon for $3.00 off of an ice cream cake for your birthday! – All Ages, Coupon Expires 05 days after Birthday – Hit “Store Locator” At top of page for one near you.
http://www.baskinrobbins.com/BDayClub/?lastMid=222536

USA – Benihana Japanese Restaurant
Free dinner WITH 3 other paying guests, song, and group photo in a Benihana frame of your party. 
http://www.benihana.com

USA – Bennigan’s Restaurant
Buy 1 Entree, Get 1 Entree FREE and Brownie Ice Cream Dessert Free – Register Online
http://www.bennigans.com/

USA – Burger King
Free Kid’s Meal to all Kid’s Club members
http://www.burgerking.com

USA – California Pizza Kitchen
Free kids meal during the month of their birthday (register first)
http://www.cpk.com

USA – Carrow’s Seafood Restraunt
Free Cake – Register Online
http://www.carrows.com/eClub/go.php?pid=su

USA – Chevy’s Mexican Restaurant
Free Gift – 35 locations
http://www.chevys.com

USA – Chili’s
Free Dessert and Happy Birthday Song – participating locations
http://www.chilis.com

USA – Cold Stone Creamery Birthday Club
Free hand-made small/medium bowl of Ice Cream – Several Locations – All Ages – Join online
http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/birthday/

USA – Dairy Queen
Free Ice Cream Cone coupon by Email – Ages 16 and Under “Click Join DQ Crew” to register
http://thedqcentral.com/

USA – Damon’s Steakhouse
Buy 1, Get 1 Free Entree, Birthday song and More! – Register Online
http://www.damons.com/eclub.cfm

USA – Famous Daves BBQ
Free Gift (maybe a piece of birthday cake, an appetizer, some ribs. Special offers and more – Join P.I.G. (pretty important guest) Club. participating restaurants – Click Join Pig Club at bottom of page.
http://www.famousdaves.com/pigclub.cfm

USA – Friendly’s Restaurant Birthday Club
Free ice cream cone on their birthday! (Age 13+) – Must join at website, Located in: CT, DE, FL, MA, MD, MASS, NH, NJ,NY, NC, OH, PE, RH, SC, VT, VI.
http://www.friendlys.com/bday_club/?lastMid=222534

USA – Fuddruckers Restraunt
Free Sundae – Show ID
http://www.fuddruckers.com/

USA – Ghirardelli Chocolate
Birthday gift and special offers by email – Been around since 1852
http://www.fishbowl.com/clt/ghrdl/lp/join/join.htm

USA – Hollywood Video Birthday Club

Come in for a FREE Hollywood Film Library® rental on your birthday! If we don’t already know, just tell us when you check out that you’re celebrating a birthday. Free birthday rentals extend to everyone else on your membership account, too. Next time you’re in, just ask a Guest Service Representative if all members’ birth dates are in our computer. – Driver’s License/State ID Required.
http://www.hollywoodvideo.com/specials/?lastMid=222538

USA – International House Of Pancakes (IHOP)
Free Sundae – Show ID
http://www.ihop.com/indexnatl.html

USA – Joe’s Crab Shack
Free Gift on your Birthday – Register Online
http://www.fishbowl.com/clt/jcs/lp/join/join.asp

USA – Macaroni Grill
Free Dessert and Song – Show ID
http://www.macaronigrill.com

USA – Outback Steakhouse
Free Blooming Onion – W/Photo ID
http://www.outback.com

USA – Qdoba Mexican Restaurant
Buy 1, Get 1 Free entrée right before your birthday. Must sign up for our email club. – Several Locations
http://www.qdoba.com/Email.aspx

USA – Quiznos Subs
Birthday Gift – Register Online
http://www.quiznos.com/offers/index.aspx

USA – Red Robin
Free Hamburger and Fries on your Birthday – Register online – Adults and Childern
http://apps.fishbowl.com/a/redrobin/join/join.asp

USA – Texas Roadhouse

Join Texas Roadie VIP and Receive a coupon for a Free Dessert on your Birthday – Show ID
http://www.texasroadhouse.com/TRHintro_flash.html

USA – Tony Roma’s Restaurant Birthday Club
FREE dinner. Join at least 2 weeks before your birthdate.
http://www.fishbowl.com/clt/tnyrms/lp/join/join.asp