March 19, 2013

Eli's special day

On Sunday night, Eli came into my room crying because he had a nightmare. When I gave him a hug, he felt like he was burning up, and sure enough, he had a fever. I kept him home from school yesterday, and he was complaining about his legs hurting--I prayed it wouldn't turn into his not being able to walk (again). It seems like every time he gets a virus, he can't walk. But luckily, after a day at home, he seemed much better.

Today was the day I had been planning for his "special day". I had told him that if he did all of the reading I'd asked him to do, that I would let him play hooky from school for one day, and I would take him out to lunch and do whatever else he wanted to do. Since he was sick yesterday, I thought today would still be a good day to go; he was feeling better, but I wasn't sure if he was good enough to go back to school just yet.

He decided that he wanted to go to Denny's for lunch, and then go to the movies. The only kids show I could find was Escape from Planet Earth, and it was about 40 minutes from here. So we headed out to get lunch first, and then go to the movies.

The snow was blowing around all over the place, and I was kind of scared driving on the expressway, because I couldn't see very far in front of me. The roads were dry, but the visibility was terrible. Halfway there, Eli said, "I want to see Jack the Giant Slayer!" I asked him what it was about, and he told me it was like Jack and the Beanstalk. I got off at the next exit, and pulled into a gas station to look up showtimes on my phone.

I ended up having to turn around, because it was at a different theater. But finally, we got to Denny's. I let Eli order anything he wanted, and he chose the same thing as last time--a t-bone steak with shrimp. I got an English muffin, egg whites, and fruit.

Eli's steak was SO disgusting; I'd ordered it medium well, but it was definitely rare, and there was a ton of connective tissue and fat. I didn't even complain, but when the server saw it after I cut into it, she said it looked terrible, and she ended up asking the manager to take if off the bill. I took a picture, but decided not to post it because it's gross ;)

I didn't realize just how bad it was until after he'd eaten the edible parts. I just hope he doesn't get sick from it! I'm not going to let him order steak there again. You don't go to Denny's for a steak! haha

After we ate, we went to the mall for the movie. Eli wanted to get a cookie from Mrs. Fields (torture, anyone?). I said we could share one, and he chose the Peanut Butter Dream Bar. We cut it in half, so I ended up eating a tiny square for 10 PointsPlus, but it was good! Then we went into the movie.

I wish I'd researched the movie before taking Eli to see it, but I just assumed it was a kids' movie based on what he said. It was scary, and after I saw Eli put his hands over his eyes about 35 or 40 minutes in, I asked him if he thought we should leave. He said yes, so we left. On the way out, I stopped at the ticket sales counter, and said, "I totally understand if there is nothing you can do, because it's my fault for not realizing this was a PG-13 movie, but it's too scary for him, so we're not going to stay. Any chance we could get a refund?"

I expected him to say no, that I was a moron for bringing a 7-year old to the scary movie when he should be school (parent of the year, for sure), but he was very kind and refunded out tickets. I felt bad that Eli's day was turning out to be not-so-special, so I asked what else he'd like to do. He wanted to go buy a toy, and since his lunch and our tickets were refunded, I agreed.

Eli ended up being really happy with how his day went, though, and I am glad. I think he just liked getting to play hooky from school and hang out together, just the two of us. I enjoyed it, too--it's rare that I spend quality time with just one of the boys! Tomorrow is Noah's turn, and thankfully he doesn't want to go to Denny's. He wants to go to Red Robin, though, which has NOTHING healthy on their entire menu. If I'm going to spend 30 PointsPlus on a meal, it's not going to be on a burger and fries! Maybe I'll talk him into some other restaurant.

I hate getting out of my routine, like I did today--eating lunch out and then being out all afternoon made it hard for me to eat well. Not to mention impulsively blowing 10 PP on a brownie at the mall! Being the day before my weigh-in, I'd pretty much bet that my weight will be up tomorrow; not because of overeating, but usually when I get out of my routine that happens for a day or two.

This is a long post with almost no pictures, so here are a few cute ones of Phoebe:

16 comments:

  1. Aww, poor lil guy. It sounds like you guys made the best of irritating situations and he'll just remember that he's got an awesome mom that let him play hooky so it's all good! :) My mom used to do that with me at Cmas time and we'd go downtown and look at the lights and see Santa and stuff. One of my favorite childhood memories!

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  2. I'm sure he had a great day. For a kid, just getting to be out of school and go to a diner and movie (even for just 40 minutes) is pretty awesome. Plus he got a toy! :)

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  3. have you tried the veggie burgers at red robin? I think they even come on a lettuce wrap if you want.
    my sister in law always did special days with her kids and I think it's a sweet idea!

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  4. I am glad you got to spend some time with him! :) I LOVE Red Robin. When I go, I get the BLTA croissant with no mayo and the freckled fruit salad and water. When I looked it up online once it was like 600 something calories.

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  5. When you go to red robin you can get any burger, chicken whatever on a lettuce "bun", you can change for a more healthy side. Good luck!! I LOVE. Red robin and have been able to escape with less that 15pp wasted :)

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  6. What a great day for you and your little man! Even if it threw your routine off, it's those things that he'll remember as he gets older! And I know you will get yourself on track after you spend your mommy and me time with them. I hope he feels better soon! I took my step-daughters to see "Oz the Great and Powerful" tonight. They have state testing all this week and next, so they have no homework. And that gives us a little extra time together. And I want to spend time with them now before the new baby gets here. I want them to know that her coming isn't going to change how I feel about them and that we will still have Mommy & Daughter time. Before they're old enough that they don't want to spend time with their uncool mom. Lol.

    http://shakinforbacon.blogspot.com/

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  7. Red Robin has a meal builder on their website with all the nutrition info. Of course, I spent quite a bit of time carefully selecting my sandwich and then ate a whole basket of fries! The waitress probably thought I was crazy.

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  8. Denny's sounds like it was a bad experience but all in all sounds like it turned out to be ok and still a special day with your son. Hope tomorrow is a great day!!!

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  9. I love red robin! :) They have a good nutrition calculator on their website so you can customize your burger and figure out how many calories. I usually get a burnin love burger w /a veggie pattie and w/o the dressing. Their broccoli or mixed vegetables are really good instead of fries.

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  10. I LOVE Red Robin but after I used their burger creator (with nutrition facts!) online I think I've been back about twice in four years, haha.

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  11. Red Robin is my weakness only because they have steak fries- my favorite! More places need to serve steak fries but I guess it's probably good my waistline that they don't....

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  12. Kim H inVAMarch 20, 2013

    At Red Robin you can get your burger wrapped in lettuce instead of on a bun, and you can get a salad or fruit salad instead of fries!

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  13. Red Robin Chicken Ensenada..is amazing! Its my favorite dish they offer.

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    Replies
    1. This is what I get too. It's 11PP. :-)

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  14. I'm confused about Red Robin. It's been a while since I've been there. But you can get anything lettuce wrapped. I think I've done a burger. . . maybe even a turkey burger? And I've done chicken lettuce wrapped too. You can fruit (cantaloupe?) as a side. I've found it to be rather easy to eat healthy there. Unless I'm missing something?

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  15. My Red Robin has a hummus and veggie plate...

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