Great Wolf

First of all, please forgive the smug and self-congratulatory tone of this post. It's just that everything went exactly as I planned! The vacation was a personal holy trinity for me; a finely executed plan, saving money/getting freebies, and being right about it all. I'm sure that the only thing saving me from being completely unbearable about it all was the sheer fact of being on holiday. And that my husband is a saint.


Desperate for a vacation, we decided to hit Great Wolf for a few days in November. We went mid-week to skip the crowds and hopefully hit some deals. I happened upon a notice of an online special that hooked us up with a good discount. We decided to go for two nights. Having heard rumors of mediocre food quality, we packed in our food and snacks (and wine!). We figured we'd have loads of time to play in the water, enjoy the room, wander the hotel, eat ice cream, and get a break from our life.




And it just worked out so perfectly, exactly how I envisioned it!


We planned to leave right after picking up Patrick from school, but school cancellation from the windstorm put the slightest crimp in my plans (I really needed him to be at school right now! I'd whine as frantically packing up). We arrived noonish, and I checked in while Kevin waited in the car with two sleeping kids.

"Would you like a free room upgrade?"

Why, yes I would!

We landed in the Grand Bear Suite, a very nice upgrade. I heard later from a lifeguard they were at 10 percent capacity. There were no lines anywhere. Perhaps 300 people in the pool, and that's guessing high. I tried to go down one of the big slides and the lifeguard said I was the first person he'd seen in 10 minutes. And maybe about 20 kids at the evening storytime.


Patrick waiting for storytime to begin.

Playing on the lilypads.


Fiona loved the water!

Patrick really got a kick out of the slides, even going down some of the bigger ones! Kevin and I took turns going down the big ones! We had so much fun we're thinking of trying to get back for our anniversary. Plus, Kevin really wants to play the MagiQuest game.

It was a great break for the perfect amount of time. By the end, Patrick was worn out, Fiona needed a good nap, and we were ready to get the kids back to normal. But it was totally worth it, and we can't wait to take them back again this time next year. Who's in?

Nine Months

Dear Fiona: You are nine months and Mommy is worn out.

To be fair, it's not all you. Your brother...oh, don't get me started on your brother. Bask in this time of being my favorite child. I'm sure your day will come. Someday, you too shall be a three year old.

But...in the meantime...you are a nine month old. Who does not sleep through the night. Let's start with this, shall we? You go to bed by seven. You are going to bed very nicely, even when it's just Mommy doing the bedtime routine. A few books with Patrick, a nurse and a snuggle, and into bed while still awake and off you go to dreamland. Then you are up again at nine. Then 1:30am. Possibly again around four. And last time at five, if you really want to push it. Sometimes you'll go back to bed. Sometimes you are up! At five! Like your brother used to do.

You children are killing me slowly.


But you really are pretty fun. And you are doing tons of new stuff. Walking is so super close. You can stand solid for a few seconds, and when you sit down it's very deliberate, not a falling plop to your bottom. You are cruising furniture all the time. You spent our whole vacation at Great Wolf walking in the water holding tight to my fingers. You are climbing onto everything (like the toilet) and basically making it impossible for me to get anything done.


You have big smiles for your family whenever we walk into the room. Patrick loves to get you after a nap. "Let's go check on sister!" he shouts. You think he's pretty funny. And you actually stop crying in the car when he sings you a song. Usually Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. But you are in a big mom phase right now. If you don't want to be all over the place (usually at a very inconvenient time) then you want me to hold you (see previous statement). While it's always nice to be wanted, you could want your Daddy sometimes too! Then Mommy could go to the bathroom in privacy.

And he's such a cute Daddy. Make him your favorite anytime, girlfriend.


You were a champ on our vacation. You loved the water and there were tons of places you could play at Great Wolf. He we are checking out some of the floor fountains waiting for Patrick to go down the slide. I can't wait to see what you are able to do next year.




Here you and Patrick are doing what you both do best: getting into stuff I don't want you to touch. You have crawled and climbed your way there, the two of you, and you don't seem to be too impressed by my chastisement. Like the dogs, I think you guys will get in more trouble together than alone. Fantastic.

I love you, and please go back to sleep.

Love
Mommy

The money in the bank makes it all a bit easier

The opera is done. It was amazing, such a great show. So well cast and super funny. Not all opera singers can actually act, so it was wonderful that Tacoma opera found a whole bunch of them. Kevin is off at the party. Mom was here watching the kids so I could see the show. She did offer to stay so I could hit the party as well, but I chose to stay home. Mom needed to drive home before 7pm, and my kids needed a normal bedtime. Plus, I head back to work tomorrow and wanted to get my act together.

So despite the fact that I was grumpy as hell and lost my shit multiple times over the past four weeks, biting a big hunk out of Visa makes it all seem hazy and glowy-like.

I keep thinking of all the things on my list that I get to do with another adult! Patrick's haircut! Holiday pictures! Doctor's appointments! Life is good.

Mom took my kids to the park while I was at the opera. "It takes a long time to get them out of the house," said said. Yep. Remember that the next time you ask me when I last cleaned my refrigerator. (Now, to be fair, she asked me this as she was cleaning it FOR me, and it was in a really nice tone of voice. But still.)

We are trying to figure out the holidays. It's kind of a bitchy process considering we all work wacky schedules that come out a week ahead of time. I might be begging for a holiday invite, so have pity on me.

Patrick sang "Jesus Loves Me" with the sign language yesterday. Fiona is winning the battle with her dinner and can consistently get it into her mouth.

And hopefully, on Monday, I'll get a lunch break.

And Now for Something Completely Different

I got the chance for a bit of pampering the last couple of days. First, I spent some long saved allowance (also know as the financial decision that saved our marriage) and got a fancy-pants pedicure at Foxfire Salon in Proctor. 90 minutes of quiet time all to myself! I brought with me a fun non-fiction read, "What French Women Know: About Love, Sex, and Other Matters of the Heart and Mind" by Debra Ollivier. A fun mix of memoir, cultural study, and gentle self-help. There is something about having nice looking toes with a fun color. And since it's been about six months since my last one, I was due for some pedi-primping.

Then Kevin surprised me. "I made you an appointment to get your haircut." While I've been talking about getting my hair cut for ages, the man knows me well enough that I could easily procrastinate the decision until Christmas. But I was nervous. A Big Change was in the air. Now I just had to go for it.

And go for it I did!

Kevin adores it. Patrick gave me a big smile when I came home. "Mommy! You got your hair cut!"


I'm pretty happy with it myself.

Figures the picture I like best is where I'm changing Fiona's diaper. Oh, the glamour...

PS. I see Carrie at FoxFire Salon in Fircrest. She's amazing!

Almost done

Patrick, I'd love to post better pictures of you, my sweet boy, but you are constant motion and deliberately refusing to pose. So this is what you get. Bad pictures on the internet forever!

The opera is almost done. It's been a rough last week. I've been worn out and feeling like a Mom On The Edge. But Halloween is done, life will be normal soon, and I'm slowing the schedule way down.







In the midst of Kevin's crazy schedule, we decided HEY! Let's get the floors done. Kevin's Dad was an absolute SAINT! He joined us Sunday night, slept over, and started with Kevin on the floors first thing in the morning. At our house, that's 6am. Two days of dust and hard work ensued. But they got through 3/4 of the work. It looks amazing. The pictures do not do it justice. PLUS....I got a new dishwasher. Since money is just flying out the window, what's another $400? Mom reminded me that spending money on your house is a good thing. I agree, but it still makes me have a seizure just a little bit, seeing our saving account shrink so fast. Next is painting, and I'm making Lisa come over to tell me what to do. Because she doesn't have nearly enough to keep her busy :) Maybe I should give her some free coffee.





I learned a hard lesson this last weekend. There were so many fun activities going on! I wanted the kids to have fun! So I crammed too much in, ignored their sleep needs, and paid a heavy price. A hyperactive/over tired three year old who pushed my buttons with every waking breath. A baby girl who manged during the day and woke up 3-5 times each night, ending with a 5:30am wake up call and happy coos. Once my mom joined me, I had a good time. The stuff on my own (like the preschool Halloween party) semi-sucked. This week we are slowing down, getting back into our (soft) routine, and going to bed on time!



Halloween was a blast. We joined the Larson's for some dinner and old fashioned neighborhood trick or treating. My Mom came along (Praise the Good Lord) and Kevin stayed for a quick dinner before heading off to the opera. For the first 20 minutes, the children all competed to see who could make a parent's spleen explode the fastest. Patrick had been wearing his Anikan Skywalker Clone Wars costume for days. After crying to bring his light saber everywhere, he finally got to carry it trick or treating. After five minutes, he handed it over. "You want your light saber, buddy?" "No, Mom has it." Thanks Patrick. Fiona was the cutest bee ever. I just love those tights with the pretend mary janes! And the little stinger on the tushie! She was very cooperative about taking pictures. The boy, not so much, as evidenced by the significant difference in picture quantity and quality between my two children.