Please note right off the bat that this blog post is NOT, I repeat NOT a pregnancy announcement. I am not, to my knowledge currently with child. I am however becoming more and more OK with getting pregnant again. Up until, oh... yesterday I would have told you that I am just not yet ready to add another baby to our mix. Isaiah is still my baby! I am guessing this is normal but I'm having a difficult time seeing my baby as a toddler, and with good reason. He's still nursing 3-4 times a day and he's not walking yet. He's still a baby to me! Maybe I'll always see him as my baby. Time will tell I suppose.
So up until yesterday, every time I thought about going through pregnancy again I felt uneasy. I remembered the heart burn and the difficulty sleeping, the feeling awkward in my own skin. And I had an easy pregnancy with Isaiah! It all started with a negative pregnancy test a few days ago. I had been having terrible heart burn (which I've only ever had when pregnant) so I thought maybe I was in the family way. But when the test came up negative I felt a tiny twinge of sadness, which took me by surprise! I have been vehemently telling Daniel that I'm just not ready for #2 yet.
Then I saw a newborn baby on Sunday and I got that inkling.
And I was at Once Upon a Child today looking for a winter coat for Isaiah and I saw all the newborn clothes and I got the urge.
So... maybe there will be another Read baby in 2014. Thankfully I'm not the one who decides when a life is created so I just get to enjoy the ride ;)
Monday, September 16, 2013
Thursday, September 12, 2013
String Cheese Koozie
Do you know what a koozie is? It goes by a variety of spellings. Coozy. Koozie. Coosie. Coldy-Holdy. (I think that one is my favorite.) A koozie is the foam thing you slip around you can of Coca-Cola so you can comfortably hold your ice cold drink AND keep it cold.
Well. I have just recently been given something like that but for... STRING CHEESE. Oooh yes. I have a string cheese koozie. I SUPPOSE if you wanted to be picky, you could argue that it's actually more of a cooler than a koozie but koozie is more fun to say.
Here's the story. Since I get to stay home part time with Isaiah, I like to look for other ways to bring in money for my family. I participate in diaper panels and surveys and the like. I also subscribe to a variety of websites where you have to answers a bunch of questions and surveys and over time you build up enough credit and they start to send you goodies like coupons and free samples and... cheese koozies!! This particular "cheese accessory" came from Influenster and Sargento cheese (proudly displayed on the top of the koozie, of course.)
Now, you may be asking yourself if a cheese koozy is really worth getting all excited about. And the answer would be no. I laughed out loud when I pulled the cheese koozie out of the box and it took me a minute to realize what the thing actually was. But underneath the koozie was a coupon for a free package of Sargento cheese. NOW we're getting somewhere! Free cheese is even better than cheese you have to pay for. BOOM BABY!
Well. I have just recently been given something like that but for... STRING CHEESE. Oooh yes. I have a string cheese koozie. I SUPPOSE if you wanted to be picky, you could argue that it's actually more of a cooler than a koozie but koozie is more fun to say.
Here's the story. Since I get to stay home part time with Isaiah, I like to look for other ways to bring in money for my family. I participate in diaper panels and surveys and the like. I also subscribe to a variety of websites where you have to answers a bunch of questions and surveys and over time you build up enough credit and they start to send you goodies like coupons and free samples and... cheese koozies!! This particular "cheese accessory" came from Influenster and Sargento cheese (proudly displayed on the top of the koozie, of course.)
Now, you may be asking yourself if a cheese koozy is really worth getting all excited about. And the answer would be no. I laughed out loud when I pulled the cheese koozie out of the box and it took me a minute to realize what the thing actually was. But underneath the koozie was a coupon for a free package of Sargento cheese. NOW we're getting somewhere! Free cheese is even better than cheese you have to pay for. BOOM BABY!
Thursday, September 5, 2013
The Uncertain Mommy
There is little else more crippling than uncertainty. I'd rather things be truly black or white but uncertainty is that frustratingly perfect shade of gray. I'd rather be sure of myself and be dead wrong than keep questioning every move, every thought, every possibility. Allow me to provide a little backstory.
One year and 18 days ago Daniel & I welcomed the most perfect little baby boy into our lives. And let me tell you, he was perfection. We got off EASY with this one. Isaiah was a great sleeper (he slept through the night at 3 weeks old.) He was a great eater (after a 2 week adjustment period, nursing was easy-peasy.) He was a very easy newborn and I really didn't struggle to feel sure of myself as a new mom. It felt natural to me.
Then around 6 months we got Isaiah on a great nap schedule. It took a few weeks of cry-it-out but our decisions felt good and right. Yes he was crying but it was a means to an end, eventually he'd learn to be ok with naptime. We also introduced him to solids. We learned very quickly that Isaiah preferred fruits to veggies. But it really didn't matter, we were just introducing solids while still nursing full time. I was sure of myself.
As the months went by, Isaiah met new milestones and learned new things and was a happy, easy to please, joy-filled little guy. Parenting felt natural. I rarely questioned myself or my decisions as his mom. That's not say I didn't make mistakes or have a few lessons to learn (Someday I'll share the story of when a woman in the Kroger parking lot called the police on me but that lesson still hurts a little :) But I was sure of myself. I was getting pretty good at reading Isaiah's cues and cries and moods. I felt so good as a new mom, at times I even felt like I was fulfilling some higher purpose just by living my life.
If parenting was college, this past year I majored in Isaiah (And minored in Daniel.) I have spent the last year of my life learning all about Isaiah.
And then Isaiah turned 1.
Suddenly I feel like I have an entirely different kid. This new kid is SUPER moody- there's no telling if he'll wake up happy and ready to play or angry and inconsolable. He freaks out every single time I lay him down for a nap. He has a few favorite foods and everything else gets thrown to the floor. He's learning to be more independent so when I tell him no or take him away from something dangerous, he throws a fit with limbs flailing & tears falling. Where is my happy, smiley baby? Who exchanged him for this temperamental toddler?
I am now entirely uncertain of nearly every decision I make involving Isaiah. Here's an example of what I mean. Let's pretend it's lunchtime at the Read house. My internal dialogue goes something like this:
"I should really give Isaiah something new for lunch. He can't live on watermelon and goldfish crackers alone. He needs to eat something GREEN. Ugh, why bother? The likelihood of that getting eaten is pretty small. It'll end up on the floor, in his hair, on the wall, everywhere but in his belly. Still, I should at least offer it. The experts say that a kid should try something 10 times before making a decision to like or dislike it. But I'm really in no mood to mop the floor. Again. But it's important that he be exposed to a variety of foods. I'd rather mop the floor 100 times than raise a picky eater..."
And on and on, back and forth I go. And I'm like this all day long: Isaiah has a little cough, should I fork over $200 and take him to the doctor? Why does he fight his naps when he is clearly tired? Why does he wake up crying? Why does he eat great at some meals and won't touch anything at the next? Is he too young to discipline? What is so fascinating about climbing up and down the stairs? Why does he cry every time I put him in his car seat? WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?
It's exhausting. I have found myself wishing he was older and could talk so that I wouldn't spend my day guessing at what's bothering him. I don't want to wish this time away, I've heard from too many parents to "cherish the time, it goes by so fast" but I'm so tired of being so uncertain.
Sigh. So that's my struggle. So sorry for the rant. It's just where my head+heart are at today. Feel free to comment with your suggestions for any or all of the questions posted above :)
One year and 18 days ago Daniel & I welcomed the most perfect little baby boy into our lives. And let me tell you, he was perfection. We got off EASY with this one. Isaiah was a great sleeper (he slept through the night at 3 weeks old.) He was a great eater (after a 2 week adjustment period, nursing was easy-peasy.) He was a very easy newborn and I really didn't struggle to feel sure of myself as a new mom. It felt natural to me.
Then around 6 months we got Isaiah on a great nap schedule. It took a few weeks of cry-it-out but our decisions felt good and right. Yes he was crying but it was a means to an end, eventually he'd learn to be ok with naptime. We also introduced him to solids. We learned very quickly that Isaiah preferred fruits to veggies. But it really didn't matter, we were just introducing solids while still nursing full time. I was sure of myself.
As the months went by, Isaiah met new milestones and learned new things and was a happy, easy to please, joy-filled little guy. Parenting felt natural. I rarely questioned myself or my decisions as his mom. That's not say I didn't make mistakes or have a few lessons to learn (Someday I'll share the story of when a woman in the Kroger parking lot called the police on me but that lesson still hurts a little :) But I was sure of myself. I was getting pretty good at reading Isaiah's cues and cries and moods. I felt so good as a new mom, at times I even felt like I was fulfilling some higher purpose just by living my life.
If parenting was college, this past year I majored in Isaiah (And minored in Daniel.) I have spent the last year of my life learning all about Isaiah.
And then Isaiah turned 1.
Suddenly I feel like I have an entirely different kid. This new kid is SUPER moody- there's no telling if he'll wake up happy and ready to play or angry and inconsolable. He freaks out every single time I lay him down for a nap. He has a few favorite foods and everything else gets thrown to the floor. He's learning to be more independent so when I tell him no or take him away from something dangerous, he throws a fit with limbs flailing & tears falling. Where is my happy, smiley baby? Who exchanged him for this temperamental toddler?
I am now entirely uncertain of nearly every decision I make involving Isaiah. Here's an example of what I mean. Let's pretend it's lunchtime at the Read house. My internal dialogue goes something like this:
"I should really give Isaiah something new for lunch. He can't live on watermelon and goldfish crackers alone. He needs to eat something GREEN. Ugh, why bother? The likelihood of that getting eaten is pretty small. It'll end up on the floor, in his hair, on the wall, everywhere but in his belly. Still, I should at least offer it. The experts say that a kid should try something 10 times before making a decision to like or dislike it. But I'm really in no mood to mop the floor. Again. But it's important that he be exposed to a variety of foods. I'd rather mop the floor 100 times than raise a picky eater..."
And on and on, back and forth I go. And I'm like this all day long: Isaiah has a little cough, should I fork over $200 and take him to the doctor? Why does he fight his naps when he is clearly tired? Why does he wake up crying? Why does he eat great at some meals and won't touch anything at the next? Is he too young to discipline? What is so fascinating about climbing up and down the stairs? Why does he cry every time I put him in his car seat? WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?
It's exhausting. I have found myself wishing he was older and could talk so that I wouldn't spend my day guessing at what's bothering him. I don't want to wish this time away, I've heard from too many parents to "cherish the time, it goes by so fast" but I'm so tired of being so uncertain.
Sigh. So that's my struggle. So sorry for the rant. It's just where my head+heart are at today. Feel free to comment with your suggestions for any or all of the questions posted above :)
Monday, August 19, 2013
FBA (First Birthday Aftermath)
I gotta admit, we threw an ROCKIN' Winnie-the-Pooh party for Isaiah yesterday. Here are a few shots of the set up. I had a BLAST gathering ideas (thank you, Pinterest) and then creating the ones that seemed the most feasible. This party was the perfect way for me to cap off Isaiah's 1st year and it was just the creative outlet I needed for summer break.
We had a wonderful time with our friends and family. Lots of people came to celebrate our big boy. We had yards games like Corn Hole, Kan Jam, and Polish Horseshoes for the adults. We had a pinata, a swing, and a Winnie the Pooh reading corner for the kiddos. And of course there was the cake smash. Let's just say this was NOT Isaiah's first taste of sweet stuff. So he knew exactly what to do when that cupcake hit his highchair. Notice the cupcake is upside down in the middle picture? That would be because Isaiah started with a fistful of icing, and never really made it to the cake portion...
The only downside to the day was Isaiah's nap schedule. He only napped for 45 minutes after church so he didn't make it long into his party before he was ready for another nap. He went down around 3:30 and slept until 5:30. Just in time for his party to be over and for the present opening to BEGIN. Now, when I created the invitations, I specifically put "Gifts are not expected" so that people would not feel obligated to bring anything, but to just enjoy the party. Well... people brought gifts. LOTS of them! Since gift giving is a love language, we know for certain Isaiah is loved. (Notice all the random lids, hangers, and plastic kitchen utensils? Some friends asked what Isaiah liked to play with and I jokingly said "Oh you know, normal baby toys like bottles, tupperware, spoons, etc." So they went along with the joke and gifted their odds and ends to us. Gee... thanks Jake & Jackie.
Now we come to today.
I woke up with a pretty nasty headache and have fought it all day. And I have zero energy to do anything. I took Isaiah for his 1 year check up and was struggling just to focus on all the doctor was saying. Blech. With an active and very curious 1 year oldrunning crawling around, not having any energy makes for a very messy day. Here's an example. I was laying on the couch with a cold washcloth on my forehead, trying to beat my headache whilst watching Isaiah empty a box of tissues one sheet at a time. He then proceeded to tear each tissue into tiny shreds. And I just watched him. I didn't stop him. I didn't even tell him no in the hopes that he's understand me and find a new toy. Nope. Just watched him enjoy what was likely the highlight of his little day (he is forever trying to get at that tissue box.) At least one us has the energy to do something today. So I decided to name my troubled day. Yup, I made up a syndrome. I call it First Birthday Aftermath. I imagine I will suffer from this malady every year and will have to yearly update my syndrome but I also don't plan on throwing such a slam bang party every year. I think the only cure is to start planning another party...
I found this adorable Winne the Pooh onesie on clearance at the Disney store. Then my sister cut off the long sleeves and turned them into leggings. How cute is this kid?!
Now we come to today.
I woke up with a pretty nasty headache and have fought it all day. And I have zero energy to do anything. I took Isaiah for his 1 year check up and was struggling just to focus on all the doctor was saying. Blech. With an active and very curious 1 year old
 |
| Notice the tissues off to the right? Yeah. |
Sunday, August 18, 2013
The Throes of Labor
So exactly this time 365 days ago I was in the THROES of labor with Isaiah! My water broke at 7:30pm and I labored on the floor next to our bed all night. Daniel caught snatches of sleep, waking every few hours to see if I needed anything. Finally at 6am he called Dena, our doula and she came and helped me labor for another 6 hours before we finally went to the hospital! Isaiah was born naturally at 3:30pm Saturday August 18.
It's funny how memories can dim, even just after 1 year. I have ZERO recollection of the the physical pain of labor. I remember telling Daniel how badly it hurt. I remember begging for an epidural about 12 hours in (my labor lasted 18 hours) but I simply could not describe the pain of a contraction to you... It's odd really. I DO remember the feeling of that final push that fully released Isaiah and a feeling of shock and awe washing over me as I held my newborn son.
But of course it was worth it. I so do not regret having a natural labor. Isaiah was so aware and alert after I delivered him. I truly loved laboring at home instead of hooked up in a hospital. I am so so so grateful we decided to hire a doula to help us labor more efficiently at home.
And now here we are, 1 year later with an AWESOME, happy, heart stealing, blue eyed baby boy who is the light of our lives. Oh my how we love this boy. I have planned a SLAM BANG Winnie the Pooh birthday party for him tomorrow. I am very pumped about this party. All I can say is "Thank You Pinterest!" I am very excited to celebrate Isaiah first year of life. Be on the lookout for pictures soon!
It's funny how memories can dim, even just after 1 year. I have ZERO recollection of the the physical pain of labor. I remember telling Daniel how badly it hurt. I remember begging for an epidural about 12 hours in (my labor lasted 18 hours) but I simply could not describe the pain of a contraction to you... It's odd really. I DO remember the feeling of that final push that fully released Isaiah and a feeling of shock and awe washing over me as I held my newborn son.
But of course it was worth it. I so do not regret having a natural labor. Isaiah was so aware and alert after I delivered him. I truly loved laboring at home instead of hooked up in a hospital. I am so so so grateful we decided to hire a doula to help us labor more efficiently at home.
And now here we are, 1 year later with an AWESOME, happy, heart stealing, blue eyed baby boy who is the light of our lives. Oh my how we love this boy. I have planned a SLAM BANG Winnie the Pooh birthday party for him tomorrow. I am very pumped about this party. All I can say is "Thank You Pinterest!" I am very excited to celebrate Isaiah first year of life. Be on the lookout for pictures soon!
Friday, August 9, 2013
4th Anniversary!
Yesterday Daniel & I celebrated 4 years of marriage! I had a great time updating Facebook throughout the day yesterday with pictures and time stamps of where I was on my wedding day. I won't use this public platform to share my heart about how much I love my husband but I WILL share how we celebrated!
Since our actual anniversary fell on a week day, we had our 'official' celebration last Sunday. After dropping Isaiah off with my parents we went to Carrabba's for dinner. (Many thanks to Tina J. for the gift card!) I LOVE Carrabba's. Their bread is so amazingly GOOD! While dining over crab fonduta, sirloin marsala, & cavatappi amatriciana we reconnected and reminisced about the last 4 years. After dinner we went to Washington Park in Over the Rhine for the CSO Lumenocity concert event. It was SO cool. The park was JAM PACKED but the event was incredible. If they ever do this again, we will be there.
One of the things I love about Daniel is that he's open to me and my conversation questions. He is a great conversationalist and really thinks about the leading questions I ask. But... like most couples (I would guess) we don't always do a great job of having deep, meaningful conversations when we've got the chance. So, thinking ahead I printed out conversation starters for us to ask on our date.
Lame? Maybe. Effective? 100 PERCENT!!!!
Thanks to Pinterest, I found 2 websites with date night questions already written. I printed them out, cut them into strips, and dumped them in a ziplock bag. Then at dinner when there was a lull in the conversation, I sheepishly pulled out my ziplock bag, explained the game, and read a question.
Question #1: If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
But Daniel's answer was Cincinnati so he revised the question.
Question #1 Revised: If you could live in 5 cities (2 foreign, 3 domestic) where would it be and why?
The "why" part of the question led to some interesting conversation because justifying the city made the answer more interesting.
Question #2: What do you consider your skills?
We liked that this question used the word "skills" instead of "strengths" because we had to think about our answer through a different lens.
Question #3: What 10 things do you want to be remembered for?
This one was HARD! It was tough to think of 10 things but 10 meaningful things made it even more tricky.
All in all, my ziplock bag slips of paper idea was a hit. The better the questions became, the closer we got to each other's hearts. We hit on a few more questions that really allowed us to open up and talk through things. Questions like:
Question #4: What concerns do you have that I do not seem interested in?
Question #5: What can I do to show my appreciation of you?
Question #6: What concerns or interests of yours would you like me to support?
If this concept intrigues you, here's where I got my questions:
http://zachterry.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/50-questions-to-ask-your-spouse-on-a-date-night/
&
http://cherishinghopesanddreams.blogspot.com/2012/01/30-things.html
Then, yesterday on our actual anniversary, we celebrated again! Daniel had to play a funeral that evening but he came home with LaRosa's! Meanwhile, I baked chocolate cupcakes (I needed the practice before I attempt to bake 60 cupcakes for Isaiah's birthday party next weekend, I justified.) When he got home we dined on pizza and cupcakes while we watched the video of our wedding. It was perfect. Oh yeah and I might have tried on my wedding dress. You know just to check that it still fits...
Since our actual anniversary fell on a week day, we had our 'official' celebration last Sunday. After dropping Isaiah off with my parents we went to Carrabba's for dinner. (Many thanks to Tina J. for the gift card!) I LOVE Carrabba's. Their bread is so amazingly GOOD! While dining over crab fonduta, sirloin marsala, & cavatappi amatriciana we reconnected and reminisced about the last 4 years. After dinner we went to Washington Park in Over the Rhine for the CSO Lumenocity concert event. It was SO cool. The park was JAM PACKED but the event was incredible. If they ever do this again, we will be there.
 |
| Music Hall all lit up! |
One of the things I love about Daniel is that he's open to me and my conversation questions. He is a great conversationalist and really thinks about the leading questions I ask. But... like most couples (I would guess) we don't always do a great job of having deep, meaningful conversations when we've got the chance. So, thinking ahead I printed out conversation starters for us to ask on our date.
Lame? Maybe. Effective? 100 PERCENT!!!!
Thanks to Pinterest, I found 2 websites with date night questions already written. I printed them out, cut them into strips, and dumped them in a ziplock bag. Then at dinner when there was a lull in the conversation, I sheepishly pulled out my ziplock bag, explained the game, and read a question.
Question #1: If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
But Daniel's answer was Cincinnati so he revised the question.
Question #1 Revised: If you could live in 5 cities (2 foreign, 3 domestic) where would it be and why?
The "why" part of the question led to some interesting conversation because justifying the city made the answer more interesting.
Question #2: What do you consider your skills?
We liked that this question used the word "skills" instead of "strengths" because we had to think about our answer through a different lens.
Question #3: What 10 things do you want to be remembered for?
This one was HARD! It was tough to think of 10 things but 10 meaningful things made it even more tricky.
All in all, my ziplock bag slips of paper idea was a hit. The better the questions became, the closer we got to each other's hearts. We hit on a few more questions that really allowed us to open up and talk through things. Questions like:
Question #4: What concerns do you have that I do not seem interested in?
Question #5: What can I do to show my appreciation of you?
Question #6: What concerns or interests of yours would you like me to support?
If this concept intrigues you, here's where I got my questions:
http://zachterry.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/50-questions-to-ask-your-spouse-on-a-date-night/
&
http://cherishinghopesanddreams.blogspot.com/2012/01/30-things.html
Then, yesterday on our actual anniversary, we celebrated again! Daniel had to play a funeral that evening but he came home with LaRosa's! Meanwhile, I baked chocolate cupcakes (I needed the practice before I attempt to bake 60 cupcakes for Isaiah's birthday party next weekend, I justified.) When he got home we dined on pizza and cupcakes while we watched the video of our wedding. It was perfect. Oh yeah and I might have tried on my wedding dress. You know just to check that it still fits...
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Hope Deferred and Burritos Lost
Apparently Daniel & I have been on a contest kick this summer. We have currently entered 3 contests this summer. Daniel is the only winner in our house.
Contest #1."Anderson's Got Talent" show. Let's not talk about that except to say that I lost.
Contest #2. Graeter's coloring contest. We colored pictures and brought them to Graeter's on July 31st, the last day for free ice cream. The next day Daniel got an email saying he had won first place! He won a $15 gift card- not too shabby since we got free ice cream anyway just for turning in our pictures!
Contest #3. Adventurrito with Chipotle. If you have been in a Chipotle restaurant lately you will likely have seen the Adventurrito poster with the treasure chest of burritos, advertising the chance to win free burritos for 20 years. 20. YEARS. of Chipotle burrito goodness. Be still my salivating tongue. So, I think to myself "YES! This is worth my time!" I log in, create an account, and start the games, which consisted of 19 days of Chipotle puzzles. Some were easy Chipotle trivia, others took a little digging. I learned a lot about Chipotle, they earned a lot of my respect, and now I have a serious Chipotle craving. (Well done you sly dogs...) For the first 19 questions you could get them wrong and try again. Not so for day 20. You had one shot at glory, miss the question and you did not get entered in the grand prize drawing. Thursday, Day 20 was the final day. I click on the question... only to find that question 20 consists of 20 MORE questions. Oh boy. It's 10pm at night and I have just unlocked the puzzle. So we dive in. Daniel & I split up the questions and get busy googling. We did AWESOME! We are tag team rockstars, and for the most part we found the answers without having to use the cheat blog posts that others had written. It was fun doing it together too. I can't speak for Daniel but I had a good time agonizing over their silly/impossible/frustrating questions. At 1:30am, after having checked and double checked our answers, I hit submit. But there was no feedback as to how many questions we got right! So after all that work we weren't even sure if we would be entered in the drawing. So... we wait. Will we win free burritos for 20 years? Will Isaiah grow up having to never pay for Chipotle? Oh the possibilities! Friday, I hop on the Adventurrito website just to check and they had the answers posted! Ohh la la! I scroll down, we got every one right! One step closer to burrito glory. But wait... one of the questions went awry! Turns out Chipotle made a test writing mistake so they're accepting 2 answers. Except we didn't choose EITHER of their answers! We were confused by the 2 conflicting answers so we made our best guess. Which turned out to be WRONG.
So that's it. We're out of the running for 20 years of free burritos. We're out on a technicality! Not even entered in the drawing all because of poor question writing, or poor answer writing, or poor researching... or something! But then I think, "Well, maybe they'll toss this question out altogether. Any teacher worth their Master's degree knows that when writing a test, if a test question is compromised you can not hold it against the student or their final grade." Apparently the Adventurrito test writers are NOT teachers who hold Master's degrees. BUT THEN! Saturday night, this email appears in my inbox...
Contest #1."Anderson's Got Talent" show. Let's not talk about that except to say that I lost.
Contest #2. Graeter's coloring contest. We colored pictures and brought them to Graeter's on July 31st, the last day for free ice cream. The next day Daniel got an email saying he had won first place! He won a $15 gift card- not too shabby since we got free ice cream anyway just for turning in our pictures!
Contest #3. Adventurrito with Chipotle. If you have been in a Chipotle restaurant lately you will likely have seen the Adventurrito poster with the treasure chest of burritos, advertising the chance to win free burritos for 20 years. 20. YEARS. of Chipotle burrito goodness. Be still my salivating tongue. So, I think to myself "YES! This is worth my time!" I log in, create an account, and start the games, which consisted of 19 days of Chipotle puzzles. Some were easy Chipotle trivia, others took a little digging. I learned a lot about Chipotle, they earned a lot of my respect, and now I have a serious Chipotle craving. (Well done you sly dogs...) For the first 19 questions you could get them wrong and try again. Not so for day 20. You had one shot at glory, miss the question and you did not get entered in the grand prize drawing. Thursday, Day 20 was the final day. I click on the question... only to find that question 20 consists of 20 MORE questions. Oh boy. It's 10pm at night and I have just unlocked the puzzle. So we dive in. Daniel & I split up the questions and get busy googling. We did AWESOME! We are tag team rockstars, and for the most part we found the answers without having to use the cheat blog posts that others had written. It was fun doing it together too. I can't speak for Daniel but I had a good time agonizing over their silly/impossible/frustrating questions. At 1:30am, after having checked and double checked our answers, I hit submit. But there was no feedback as to how many questions we got right! So after all that work we weren't even sure if we would be entered in the drawing. So... we wait. Will we win free burritos for 20 years? Will Isaiah grow up having to never pay for Chipotle? Oh the possibilities! Friday, I hop on the Adventurrito website just to check and they had the answers posted! Ohh la la! I scroll down, we got every one right! One step closer to burrito glory. But wait... one of the questions went awry! Turns out Chipotle made a test writing mistake so they're accepting 2 answers. Except we didn't choose EITHER of their answers! We were confused by the 2 conflicting answers so we made our best guess. Which turned out to be WRONG.
 |
| Chipotle's mistake |
 |
| The title of this email should read: PSYCH, SUCKER! YOU LOSE! |
Chipotle made me FEEL like I had won, but no. This is a loser's email. A "thanks for playing but ya missed a question" email. Sigh. Another contest lost. I'm so mad at Chipotle but I'm also torn. I want to boycott. To stay mad at them for ruining my chance at 20 years of burritos. But... I sure could go for a consolation burrito right about now. (Once again, well done you sly dogs...)
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