MelaniePenelope

Wordless Wednesday: Lunch at the Lodge

 

(Pic from my cell phone). If you're playing along, link up here!

Fin.

Bzz, Bzz: göt2be smooth operator

A day or two ago, I received this latest BzzCampaign in the mail, for göt2be smooth operator hair products. In the box was a full size bottle of göt2be smooth operator soothing lustre lotion for me, and three smaller trial-size bottles to give away to my friends. There were also some great coupons for y'all!

So I started using it, and I put it on Chloë's fly-away hair, too. I can't smell it right now, but supposedly it smells "luxurious." And it works for smoothing hair and making it extra shiny. Rob said my hair looked really shiny and smooth, and when I put it on Chloë's crazy curls, it really smoothed the savage beast. It doesn't make your hair feel crispy or gunky, either; I still thought my hair felt as soft as usual. And you can put it on whether your hair is wet or dry, which is great since I always air-dry mine.

I'm not much of a girly-girl, but I have to admit, my favorite part is the cute little charms attached to the bottle!

If you'd like to try some göt2be smooth operator products, comment below and I'll snail mail you a coupon! If you've already tried it before, let me know what you thought of it. I really like it!

Fin.

Eggstra, Eggstra!

Wanh wanh wanh, I know. Lame.

 

 

 

Today was definitely an indoor day, as it was brrr, chilly outside. To pass the time, we colored Easter eggs! First, the kids colored theirs:

 

You can see some writings and drawings on the eggs where I had them use a clear crayon before dyeing. They were really confused about that at first, but then they got into it.

 

And these are the ones I made from the Williams-Sonoma kit. So pretty! Jack was funny; he thought the ones with the wrappers on them had been turned into glass. They are pretty hard and shiny!

While I painted eggs, the children watched movies that I'd gotten from Redbox for free yesterday: Bolt and Madagascar II. They've seen both before but loved them so much, I rented them again. They were really bummed I had to return Bolt tonight; 'tis their current favorite movie.

********

So while Rob and Chloë were out at her ballet class, and Jack and Sophie were having a nap, I started thinking about maybe not going to Bunco tonight. I just don't feel well at all.  I called around for a sub, but the person who was going to find one for me never called me back. So, reluctantly, I got into the shower and got ready. Bah. I never don't want to go, so it takes really feeling crappy to get me not in the moood for Bunco.

After I stopped at the store for a rotisserie chicken to bring, and showed up at the house, it turned out the had a sub for me ever all. Well, too bad - I'm playin'! It was a long drive out there, and I wasn't going to not play! But it worked out, since someone else was missing anyway.

Despite the fact that we had a young child playing with us (which was quite annoying for several of us there. Don't get me wrong, I like young children - even have a few of my own! - but Bunco is really supposed to be a chance for adult women to get out and get together without having to deal with kids, censor their language or topics, or anything. I personally think we should make a rule that no kids under at least 10-12 are allowed to play, but that's just me...), it was a lot of fun.

I didn't have a voice, so I kept making other people 'talk' for me, like when I rolled a Bunco and couldn't yell it out like I like to do! Steph and I had a lot of laughs tonight, and I even actually ate pretty decently. I ate more than I thought I'd be able to, and I didn't get nauseous afterward. Always a plus.

So the woman who irritates the hell out of me was no different tonight. I was not in the mood to deal with her crap tonight, so I kept pre-empting all her little habits like dice-grabbing and insisting on keeping score by doing it myself! She was clearly annoyed, and I enjoyed it. Not very Christian of me, but... none of us can stand her, and maybe I can irritate her right out of the group? Yeah. That's not very nice. But after two years of her, I don't care anymore. Really, I don't.

Anyhoo, Tabitha was really nice and gave me all the tissue paper and gift bags from her shower, for CARE Package, so I'm gonna organize them now and then do some scrapping. Toodle-oo!

Fin.

Product Review: Johnson & Johnson First Aid Instant Burn Cooling Patches

Phew. That's a long title!

 

So I was boiling eggs for dyeing with the kids today, and while that was going on, I was emptying the dishwasher. I accidentally dropped a plastic kids' cup into the boiling water, and though I gingerly reached in to retrieve the cup, I still managed to splash boiling water all over my right hand.

Ow.

Can I say it again?

Ow!!

I have to admit, I dropped the f-bomb a few times, right there in front of the kids. Bad Mommy! But my hand was on fire, people! After running cold water over it - which helped until the water stopped - and spraying Solarcaine on the burn - which helped for about 10 seconds - I remembered I had a box of these Burn Cooling Patches from Johnson & Johnson's First Aid line in the cupboard, for just such an occasion.

 

The worst fingers to get it were the ring and pinky, so I reached into the box and pulled out the first two patches I touched. (The box says "5 Assorted, but looking at them, they all seem the same to me!)  I kept the patches on throughout the egg-dyeing process, so a couple of hours, I guess.

While they were on, they really helpe the parts that were covered. As you can see, they only covered a small portion of the burn (see in the picture, my ring finger knuckle is white, but it's red above and below?). The covered portions hurt a thousand times less than the non-covered portions. I just wished I had bigger bandages.

When I took off the patches, I was surprised to find the burn marks completely gone where they had been, compared to the angry red of the untreated areas of my fingers! And I can touch them, press on them, and they don't hurt like the rest of the burn!

So, I give these Burn Cooling Patches an A+, and I heartily recommend them. I will definitely be keeping them in the house from now on!

Fin.

I Hab A Code

I'll make this brief (for me), because I really don't feel well and have stuff to do.

 

 

 

 

The kids (with lots of mommy help) made their Easter crafts today. Jack made the pompom chick, Sophie made the pompom bunny, and Chloë made the feather chick. They were a bit harder than I thought they'd be, mainly because we didn't have good, tacky glue. Oh, well. The journey was more important than the destination, in this case.

I learned a little lesson about kids and crafting while we were at the Cub Club at Great Wolf Lodge. For me, it's important that arts and crafts be functional. I hate just making stuff for the sake of stuff. I hate having the clutter (haha, I know, given all we have in this little house) and then not being able to do anything with it after a sufficient period of admiration, other than store it or toss it.

But kids are different, y'know? They don't care about functionality so much as the process of exploring different media and using a variety of supplies. That's the fun part for them. So I guess more often I'll just throw a bunch of things at them and let them go at it, and appreciate what they do no matter whether we can do something with it! I'll just keep my preferences about usefulness to myself.

But enough about that.

 

 

 

I haven't really been eating well at all since I first got the flu, about three weeks ago. Since then, between puking a lot and just not getting back on my regular feed, I'm barely taking in 300 calories a day, which is not optimal, obviously. So last night, I made myself some sugar-free Jell-o to try and 'baby' my tummy a little, and start over with liquids. It was ready today... but the kids found it, and hey wanted it. I really didn't. All this to say, here are some pictures of my kids eating neon yellow Jell-O.

After that, we went upstairs for me to shower and then attack the laundry monster. I have decided it is just impossible to keep him at bay and to learn to live with it. Drives me crazy, though. Fortunately, I had not one but three willing helpers today, and they each put away their own folded clothes. We're only about halfway done, though, so back at it tomorrow!

We quit when it was time to get Chloë ready for Tap. I put the Nonnies down for naps, and Rob came home to Curly Sue to dance class. I was going to do stuff (clean, work on the coupons I never did this past weekend, maybe some scrapbooking), but I felt crappy and just bummed around online.

 

 

I was getting the mail just as they returned. There was a package for Chloë from Zenni Optical, containing her very cheap ($20, maybe?) new pair of back-up glasses for the days when her regular pair are gawn missin'. I can't really recommend Zenni, though; a reader suggested it after we purchased my Rx sunglasses from EyeBuyDirect.com, because they have children's frames. Well, I found a LOT of bad reviews online about Zenni but decided to chance it anyway. You can see they actually did arrive, and they got the prescription right, but the frames are way too big, despite the measurements I had (and gave). So, these will stay in hiding for those rare days when the cute pair can't be found!

We had a mystery shop for dinner at IHOP tonight, so Rob woke up the Nons (much to their utmost chagrin, especially Jack's) to get out there for some grub. The kids all ate amazingly well, and Rob cracked that he was going to cry with joy! It's always great when these notoriously stingy eaters surprise us like that. As for myself, I barely ate and took 95% of my meal - and a stomachache - home. So much for eating well today.

At home, we all got into cleaning mode to better the downstairs, and then the kids had a little dessert while I fussed about basketball pre-empting my viewing of Big Bang Theory (the best show on TV). And now, I really have some coupons to attend to. I haven't organized them for weeks, and that is a sad, sad situation, my friends.

Fin.

Not Quite Weekend Warriors

I would say this weekend was a nice mixture of R&R and some activity. R&R because, as mentioned before, Rob has another cold, and now I have it too, and Saturday I was felled by a major killer migraine. (Had one on Wednesday, too, that was so bad I almost high-tailed it to the neurologist, but that's old news now.) Activity to follow.

First, Rob got up with the kids and took Jack to his soccer game on Saturday morning. I stayed behind, very reluctantly, because of the hellish migraine. Well, even though Rob got out on the field to encourage Jack to play, he refused and sobbd the whole time until they finally gave up and left. He wants to quit soccer. He doesn't want to do anything else, either. So we're trying to figure out what to do.

 

{Oh, Lord. Please ignore the crapfest that is my desk in this picture. I was too lazy to edit the photos.}

Then, the postman brought another lovely box for CARE Package! This time, it was from a nice lady on my knitting e-list (similar to my crochetlist, except without the monthly charity event) who had a bit of a stash to unload on some good cause. I volunteered ours and won the loot! Lots of the yarn is small bits and bobs that I can use on tiny things or edgings, but there's some good amounts of really nice yarns in there, like those balls of mango and lime there on the right: same fiber in different shades. I see a little dress in my future out of that.

   

Miss Martha also sent a bunch of knitting needles - and a hook - in the package. One time, I tried making up and sending out 10 learn-to-crochet packages with the same booklet my MIL gave me to learn, some yarn, a hook, and a yarn needle. Everyone in the group seemed so eager to learn and contribute, but you know what? Only one person ever sent me any finished items back for the charity, and I don't think I even got any of the kits back. It sucked, royally. So I'm loathe to try that again. But I do have extra needles and hooks again, and definitely yarn, if any readers out there would like to make supplies for CARE Package. (It's an honor system, y'all.) Give me a holler.

Anyway, thank you, Martha, for the very useful donations!!

Saturday afternoon, I had to get off my duff and head out, migraine, cold and all, to my friend Tabitha-from-Bunco's baby shower. Her little baby girl, Liliana, is due next month. (Right, Tab? Not this month? I could be wrong.) Tabitha's about as big as your pinky finger, with a basketball in front. Too cute!

The shower was a lot of fun. I sat by Stephanie and Linda (also from Bunco; she watched the Littles when Chlo and I went to NYC a week ago), and we gabbed and laughed the whole time. We played games, and I won a prize for matching answers with Tabitha about the baby-to-be! A nice, pineapply bottle of lotion from Bath & Body Works.

There were so many people there, which meant a ton of gifts. I was admiring the pile of loot and really regretting not ever having a shower myself. Is it too late now? Maybe I could have an older kids' shower and y'all could supply their food and clothes? No? I didn't think so. ;)

When Rob picked us up from the Lodge on Friday, the oil light was on in the car. Oopsy, I was way past my oi change due date. So I tried to swing by and get 'er done after the shower yesterday, but they were closed. Rats. Went home and crashed, picking myself up only to eat a crabcake - my total caloric intake for the day. {Note to self: eat more, you dumb bunny!}

I was so exhausted after that, as was Rob. Lame! Go away, colds!

Sunday, I don't know what time everyone else got up, but it was no longer AM when I did.  We were supposed to go to IHOP for breakfast for a mystery shop, but I rescheduled that for next Saturday. We did, howeve, make it to Bruster's for a fun ice cream shop! I'd never been there before. They only had two sugar-free flavors, in cinnamon and coffee. Weird choices, eh? I picked the cinnamon, and I ate down to the cone before Sophia demanded it. No dumping! Yay for sugar-free.

Everyone else's choices looked sooo good. Rob had a peanut butter sundae. Mmm, mmm, I do love a PB sundae, but he wouldn't give me one single bite. Which is a good thing, as I'd have been in Dump City, but dang, it was sure hard to watch!

 

   

 

 

 

It was a lovely day out, and someone suggested we throw water balloons when we got home. Why stop there? I filled the balloons, and Rob filled the water guns, and we went to town. Everyone got in on the act, but you can see who stole the guns from the kids and had the most fun! Sophia and I got completely soaked. Loved it!

 

{Hey, don't look at my floor, either. I haven't vacuumed since we've been back home.}

Back inside, Rob bathed the kids and dressed them in warm jammies. This is how the Non-Twins cuddled while watching some Noggin. Two peas in a pod, they are! I commented to Rob that it's like Sophia is Jack's replacement twin. I don't know if that's an awful thing to say or what, but it's kinda true.

So I baked some Beer Bread, the mix of which I bought from Tabitha's Pampered Chef party last month. I even had some, just a little. It was so good! It tasted nothing like I expected (yeasty, tangy) and was instead quite sweet. The kiddos loved it, too. Good thing there are two packages in the box!

And that's about all for the weekend. Do any of you watch Celebrity Apprentice?  That was an interesting firing, eh? I was quite surprised at both of them! I thought for sure it would be Melissa and Clint. Poor Tionne! I'm glad to see Khloe gone, and for the reason she was booted, too. DUIs are no joke. (And hello, can someone get that girl to do something with her hair?!! Ick!)

I have coupons to cut, a shopping list to make... yay.

Fin.

Great Wolf Lodge

(Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with, nor have I received anythng from, Great Wolf Lodge for this review.)

{Argh, Typepad just ate my post. Now I have to start all over, even though it now has an auto-save feature! Grrr.}

So Wednesday was filled with anticipation for our visit to Great Wolf Lodge, because we had to go to Sophia's dance class, Chloë's dance class, and then Jack's soccer practice in the evening before we could head up to Williamsburg. To keep busy, the kids all helped me empty their closets and dressers of Fall/Winter wardrobe and replace it with Spring/Summer. Yay, it's time for that at last! (Although I'm still keeping Winter out, as I remember it snowed here in April a few years ago...) The busyness didn't keep the kids from barraging me with questions, though. "Are we going to Great Wolf Lodge? When? Today?!! Why can't we go now?? Is it time yet? What are we waiting for? Etc."

Finally, we'd finished up with classes and practice (which didn't go so well; Jack wants to quit soccer already!), and it was time to make our way north.  Everyone was hungry, so we decided to stop at McD's for dinner on the way, thinking we couldn't bring outside food into the Lodge. (We were wrong.) I ordered a chicken sandwich for Rob and a 20-pc nuggets for the kids to share. I ate three of the nuggets myself, not having eaten all day; big mistake. When Rob found a giant pickle- and tomato-covered hair in his sandwich, we turned around and returned to the "restaurant" just in time for me to get out and yak all over the ground. But at least he got the food replaced, some extra fries, and the total amount recharged to our card...

Anyway. On to the Lodge.

(Hey, Great Wolf Lodge! If you're listening, and I know you're following me on Twitter, it would be a great idea to put a sign for the place on I-64 and also at the turn onto Rochamebeau, letting people know how long of a drive it is down to the Lodge. Just my $0.02.)

At check-in, the fam waited outside while I went in. Everything went swimmingly, and we even got a free upgrade to a larger suite with a fireplace, because the KidCamp Suite I'd reserved only came with two beds in the tent, and of course we have three kids. They switched us from a tent room to a cabin room, but that was okay since the kids didn't know what they were supposed to get anyway. Also, when I reserved us, Rob wasn't going to come, so he wouldn't have gotten a wristband pass to the waterpark. He changed his mind and came along at night - suckily having to work during the day - and they gave me an extra wristband for him at no extra charge! I was well pleased.

Speaking of the wristbands, they were so cool! Not only were they the waterpark passes, but they were the room keys, too. You just waved them in front of the door lock at your room, and it opened right up! Plus, they were an in-house credit system, too! You could pay for everything with your wristband instead of having to carry a wallet around. I loved that. It was a little too convenient, actually!

But I'm sure you wanted to see pictures, yes? Don't worry. I have a ton of 'em:

 

Once in our room, the kids ran right to their cabin to get changed into jammies. We didn't arrive in time for the 8PM PJ story time, but we had a few minutes 'til the 9 PM Clock Tower show about not being afraid of nature. The waterpark closed at 9 also, so there was no point trying to go that night. Rats!

 

Our crew heading down the hall to the show in the Lobby. Everything at GWL was rustic and wilderness-themed. Wood everywhere.

 

Waiting for the show to start. Sophia just pulls up a rug and lies down wherever she feels like it!

 

The giant Clock Tower in the lobby, where the critters all talk and sing about Mother Nature.

 

Haha, most kids sat up and kept to themselves, but Sophia just sprawled out wherever she wanted, to watch the show. And how does she do that with her legs?! My knees don't go like that!

 

After the show, we toured the Lobby and the rest of that floor, including the Gift Shop. There were these wolf statues everywhere, and Soapy squatted down and made friends with a few of them.

 

Our first glimpse of the waterpark, from above. See that giant bucket near the top right, that says, "Great Wolf Lodge"? It dumps 1000 gal of water every five minutes, and my favorite thing to do was stand under there and wait to be drenched. So fun!

 

Sophia loved to sit in this bear chair by the Front Desk. Every chance she got, she would run over to it and have a snuggle. (I swear the other kids were there, too!)

 

Sophie and Jack peeking out of their Cabin windows at us, when they were supposed to be settling down for the night! Chloë and Jack fell asleep soon after, but Sophie couldn't get to sleep for quite a long time. She kept chatting away to herself and us for a couple of hours. I couldn't blame her; I, too, was too excited to rest. I spent the evening poring over the next day's edition of Lodge Life to see what we should do and when.

 

Finally she slept, and so sweetly. I would stroke her little round cheek, and she would stir slightly before settling again. Always with the thumb in the mouth!

 

Another sweetheart. No, I didn't climb up to the top bunk to take Chloë's sleeping picture. Shame on lazy me!

 

Though I stayed up late (ahem, with Rob), I managed to jump right out of bed after my 0745 wake-up call. Very uncharacteristic of me, but there was stuff to do! (That's the mania part of having a bipolar mother: when there's fun to be had, I'm the one pushing them to go, go, go!) The Littles were sound asleep, but Chloë grumpily awoke when I turned on a coupla lights. She and I went down the hall to order the Non-Twins' birthday party package, and when we returned, they were just beginning to rouse. Everyone got dressed and ready, and we went down the hall to the restaurant for breakfast. But first, we encountered Wiley the Wolf for a character meet-and-greet. The Nons wanted no part of that, but Chloë was thrilled to pose with the mascot! (And yes, she does have on two different color flip-flops; we could only find one of each. Oh, well!)

 

The kids attacked the big bowl of half-and-half in the restaurant. When I was a kid, I used to love to drink them, too! Sophia was free for being 3-and-under, and I managed to get myself a kids' buffet price after explaining about my surgery to our awesome Server. And it was true, I ate less than a third of what the kids each put away!

 

They really chowed down. OJ for everyone, along with cereal, yogurt, pancakes, waffles, fruit - you name it! It was a great meal to start a busy day of play.

 

Almost as soon as we returned to our room to change for the waterpark, the kids' birthday package arrived! Paper went flying as they dug through the giant gift bag to sort out who got what. Jack commandeered the disposable camera (which he doesn't like to use, he just wants to have), Sophia took the fun birthday hat and the GWL stuffed waterpark wolf, and Chloë was all about her little gift bag with a giant candy bar and stuffed wolf keychain. There was a GWL t-shirt as well, and they can just share that as they grow into it. No one cared that they had to share the package, which was great since we'd deliberated over needing to order extra stuff.

 

The goofy hat was awesome, and she wore it all over the Lodge when she wasn't swimming, garnering many comments and compliments! It is now our official birthday hat, and I'm going to make anyone celebrating in our house wear it for their day!

 

This sign was posted on our door, announcing their special day(s) to passers-by. It was great, too, because that's how the kids knew which room to go to when they ran ahead of me.

We went down to the waterpark for a while after that, until it was time to do a free craft at the Cub Club. I signed the kids up for Cub Club membership, and they were given free keepsake wristbands as well as a certificate for a free meal and treat for the two birthday kids! I forgot my camera for that part of the day, but they each colored a Great Wolf Lodge-themed shrinky dink, which they really enjoyed watching shrink in the toaster oven. (Note to self: buy some for later!) The girls' were turned into necklaces, and Jack's was made into a keychain. We returned to the waterpark after that, for many more hours of play.

My kids are pretty chickeny, so we mainly stuck to four areas of the waterpark: the baby/toddler play area, the wave pool, the lazy river, and the family hot tub. On the lazy river, I'd get a double tube and put one kid straddling the middle, with another kid at each end, and push them around the stream. It was relaxing for everyone when they were tired of splashing and playing. Wish I'd gotten a picture of the three of them sitting atop a tube, though!

We had lunch inside the waterpark, and the worst thing imaginable happened to me: I got mustard all over myself trying to clean up the Littles' hot dogs! If you don't know, I have a major mustard phobia. I Freaked. Out!! I think I was in shock, actually, until I got my wits together and scrubbed it off with napkins. But some was under my wristband, and I couldn't get it out. Talk about nightmare!! Somehow I managed to survive, but I'm developing hives right now just thinking about it! Hehe.

 

At 1500, we retured to the Cub Club for another free craft time. Chloë is all about crafting, as you may remember, so she loved that. Here she is decorating a paper turtle, while Jack is making a Chinese lantern.

 

Sophia decided to make a lantern, too. I helped her cut the shapes and stick on pretty rhinestones.

 

The Cub Club was a really well-thought-out space for the 4-12 set. There was an abundance of great craft supplies, lots of fun toys, comfy places to rest and read one of the many books, always a kids' movie playing, and more. We especially loved Amanda, who worked there Thursday and Friday; she was tireless in getting all the kids involved in something fun, and she had the patience of a saint.

 

Most of the time, Jack was either pushing around a shopping cart full of cars and trucks, or playing on this really cool Little Tikes computer. Or... both!

 

Chloë's finished turtle - and you can see her shrinky dink necklace, too. 

  

Included in the birthday package was a discount for color-your-own t-shirts, pillowcases or knapsacks. Sophie chose a shirt, Chlo the pillowcase, and Jack refused. Three times, he refused, until the girls were just about finished. Then, he wanted a t-shirt, too. Nope, nope, nope. Mama doesn't play that game. No means no! Chloë didn't want to keep coloring, so Amanda took her pillowcase and saved it until the next day.

 The kids' finished art. Sophia didn't get the concept of "too much glue, honey," and it was everywhere!

 

One or both of the Nons spent a lot of time on the rug, watching a movie, while Chloë was doing yet another project. Always with the projects. That kid would have spent more time at Cub Club than the waterpark if I'd let her! (And if I could have left her there alone to do so, I would have!)

Finally, we left Cub Club and went next door to the Northern Lights Arcade. Also included with the birthday package were a bunch of tokens for play! Sophia did really well at bashing shark heads! Hmmm....

 

The arcade was a bit of a rip, since some games took 2, 3 or FOUR!! tokens. But we had a lot of fun there.

 

On the other hand, this guaranteed-win candy grabber claw game was awesome! They kids played it over and over, and each time they won a handful of candy - for one token each! They filled a paper bag with the loot. Just what they needed - more junk.

 

Jack loved riding this little fire truck!

 

...and Sophie enjoyed this little ice cream truck! We managed to collect a ton of tickets for playing games. I even found one that paid me 45 tickets per token a few times! In the end, it wasn't enough to get a whole lot, and they redeemed all their tickets for what? More candy!!

 

Jack had been wanting to go back to the room, to take a nap, all day. But I was determined to keep them up and get them good and worn out, so everyone would fall asleep at night. I did give in then and take them to our room for a breather, though. Everyone (not me) sucked on a Tootsie Pop from their candy winnings and chilled out on the balcony. It was a really beautiful day outside, and we enjoyed the rest.

 

Chloë on the balcony

 

It became clear then that Daddy wasn't going to make it to the Lodge in time for dinner, so we went down to the bar to order the large pizza and drinks that came with the kids' birthday package. After 15 minutes, we went down again to pick it up, and poor Soapy took a spill off a bar stool and hit her head. I'm so nervous about head injuries now, so I really checked her out before proclaiming her to be fine. We went back to the room, where she and I had our pineapple pizza on the bed. I have to say, and I am a bit of a pizza aficionado, that this was probably the worst pizza I've ever had in my entire life. There was also a Pizza Hut Express on the property, and I found myself wishing the pizza could have come from there instead of the restaurant. Ugh, it was awful!

 

Chloë and Jack both asked for pepperoni pizza, which they ate on the floor in front of the fireplace and TV, watching cartoons. Only, they picked off all the pepperoni and put it on the side. Why? "We don't like pepperoni," said Chlo. Well, why did you order that then?? Crazy kids.

 

We went back to the waterpark to wait for Daddy after that. Sophie had a brave moment and climbed up inside Fort Mackenzie, but then she couldn't get back down again. So, I took Chloë and Jack in hand, and up we went to get her. Jack cried the whole time, but Chloë was able to crawl through a place I couldn't - or wouldn't? - and bring her sister back to safety.

 

The kids loved to go to the family hot tub (there's another one for 21+ only) when they were chilly, and warm up. And the tub was really, really warm. When Sophie wasn't keeping to herself on the stairs, she was busy walking around the entire wall of the the tub, chatting up everyone in her way. There were lots of adoring looks and smiles. She made buddies with a lot of folks that way!

 

Chloë was tall enough to walk around the hot tub, so she also would walk back and forth, back and forth, chatting up people in her path.

 

Jack's favorite thing to do in the hot tub was sit next to Mommy and take off his life vest, enjoying a little freedom.

 

There were lots of fun things to do in the kiddie pool, so that was a favorite with all three of them. Poor Chloë. There were three slides in the kiddie pool, and she kept going down the two orange ones. I repeatedly asked her to try the yellow one, but she refused. It looked like so much fun, though, so finally on the second day, I carried her up there and sent her down the slide. Well, she cried and cried, and I felt like a crappy mother. I learned from that and will never, ever put her on a ride she doesn't want to go on again. Sophia, however, went down the yellow slide multiples times with glee!

 

Jack loved to play with the valves, which made water spray in all different directions. When Rob joined us, he was concerned about Jack touching them, thinking they weren't for kiddie play! I was amused by that...

 

Whee! Chloë taking a ride down an orange slide

 

OMG, this child. (Jumping ahead a little bit), on the second day, we were playing in the baby pool when Sophia decided to go down a slide. Like any mother alone with three kids, I was constantly turning my head in all directions to keep an eye on my widely wandering ducklings, so I turned to check on Jack and Chloë, and when I looked back, ,she was gone. Gone. I ran over by the slides and looked up there, but couldn't find her. I looked all over the baby pool, but she wasn't there. Finally, I told the lifeguard my baby was missing, and he blew three tweets on his whistle. A lifeguard supervisor came rushing over, and they locked down the waterpark. Sobbing, I told him her name, age, description, and what she was wearing. He was very professional, telling me to check the ladies' rooms while he and the other guards searched the park. I left the other two in the hands of the lifeguard in the baby pool and took off.

Well, she wasn't in either restroom. She wasn't in the wave pool. She wasn't in the hot tub. She wasn't anywhere!! I was bawling, imagining my baby girl facedown in the water somewhere, despite her life vest. It was awful. I was grateful to the guards searching for her, but I knew she needed me. Finally, I returned to the baby pool, and there she was, playing with her siblings. What a relief!! I can't even begin to describe the feeling to you. I ran up, and Chloë told me that Sophia had said she fell down and went under the water when she went to go on the slides! I cried some more and held my baby tight for about five full minutes, telling her how much I loved her and how worried I had been. She was fine, though, smiling and happy. Thank God. Thank God!! (Of course, I've been worrying about dry drowning ever since, but all is well...)

We finally found Daddy, who apparently had been searching for us for an hour with no luck, instead of having fun in the park. Poor guy! I felt really bad for him, even though I'd told him we'd be in the park. Guess we should have been more specific and stayed put, instead of doing our circulation amongst our favorite attractions. But, he'd gone to the room and had some pizza (blech), and then he played in the park with us until it closed for the night. Which wasn't long, not long at all. (Sorry, honey.) It was then that I managed to go down my one and only slide, and I realized for the millionth time that any big fun adventures will have to wait until the kids are bigger! This time is all about them. Just as well, though. It'll be over before we know it. :(

 

We also received a big ol' birthday cake for the kids as part of their package. I'd ordered it ahead of time to arrive after we'd returned from the waterpark and gotten dry, and it came right on time - when Rob and I were both naked. Sophie opened the door when she knocked, and the server may or may not have seen one or both of us in all our glory! Hee.

 

We sang to the two birthday children, and then Daddy cut the cake! Of course, I didn't get any. Wah. According to Rob, it was really good, too.

 

Nummy...

 

...nummy...

 

...nummy!

 

After cake, the kids washed up, brushed teeth, and went to bed. According to my evil plans, they fell asleep immediately. All three of them. Woot! I wanted to read the next day's copy of Lodge Life to plan our activities, so I sent Rob down to the Front Desk to get it. In the birthday hat. Lots of people looked at him like he'd had a little too much to drink, and smirked, but no one said a word!

I packed up our room to get ready for check-out the next morning, and told Rob exactly what to take with him when he left for work. So imagine my dismay when he forgot half of it, and I had to lug it all around the Lodge after we left our room the following day. Bah! I managed, though. I didn't even pay $20 to rent a locker, opting instead to hide our things under towels in the waterpark and leave them there when we went around to various things. It worked; no one touched a thing. Even when I forgot to take all our cameras with us.

For breakfast, we went down to the sweet shop and picked up doughnuts for the kids and a yogurt for me. We ate in our room, and none of the kids could finish a single doughnut. How weird is that? Ah, donuts. I miss you. (But not the sixty pounds!)

Friday was much a repeat of Thursday, spending time doing crafts in the Cub Club (Chloë finished her pillowcase and this time, when Jack wanted to color a t-shirt, I gave in. And he colored the whole thing without complaining, which he did every other minute of our time there) and making our way around the waterpark circuit. I missed Rob so much this day, but we had a lot of fun anyway. 

For lunch, we dried up and went upstairs to the restaurant to cash in on the two kids' free birthday meals. Jack got another hot dog, Sophie ordered grilled cheese, and Chloë ordered spaghetti and meatballs. I managed to find a shrimp and crab salad on the menu that I could eat, but I was none too pleased when it arrived with a big, nasty hair in the middle. The manager came over and replaced my meal, and in the end, I didn't pay for anything but one kid's meal. Cheap eats!

 

At 5 PM, we had to leave the waterpark, dry off and dress the girls and make it to their special pampering appointment at Scooops Kid Spa. It was too much fun! The girls got to pick from lots of ice cream "flavors" for their various lotions, scrubs, and bath fizzies. Jack was perpetually curious about the whole thing but definitely deemed it too girly for him!

 

To keep warm, they were each given a special Scooops robe. Everything was over-the-top pink and ice cream themed. Too cute!

 

Sophie really ate up the whole treatment! Lesley was wonderful with her, soaking her hands in peach fizzies, drying off and rubbing her with vanilla lotion, and painting her tiny piggies in the neon pink Soapy chose. She answered a million of the kids' questions about what she was doing and why, what she was using, and what was next. She was really great!

 

The pretty manicure! She did a really great job keeping her hands still for the entire half-hour of Chloë's pedicure, but of course several fingers got smuged in the following hours. Oh, well. And she sucked the paint right off her left thumb. It still looks cute, though!

 

Chloë looked so grown up soaking in her chocolate foot bath, and when I thought about my big girls getting their mani-pedis done, I started to boohoo.

 

Poor Jack! He was so curious about everything, but when he tried to peek at Sophia's nails, she glared at him and told him, "No! You can't see me!"

.

Chloë was so thrilled with her "magenta" nailpolish and her pink toe separators. She kept those things for hours until I finally convinced her they were garbage and she could get rid of them!

 

The pretty pedicure! She has managed to keep them nice, and they look so adorable on her! I haven't managed to paint her toenails in a long time, but I think I will from now on.

 

Free ice cream from the sweet shop was included with their Spa treatments!

 

First, though, we went upstairs for Jack's special "pampering session." They had a Build-a-Bear-like fluffing station there, and he chose to fluff a wolf which he named Jacob.

 

Jack got a special wishing star to make a wish on before placing it inside Jacob. We don't know what he wished for; he wasn't allowed to tell!

 

We went down to the Bear Paw to get the girls their ice cream, and of course I bought Jack a cone, too. Their single scoops turned out to be more like doubles or triples, and none of them could finish! I would have loved to, but... can't, can't, can't.

The girls couldn't swim anymore because of their nails, so I had them sit and rest while I tried to take Jack in the water. He cried and was too cold, though, so we sat it out and waited for Rob to arrive. He finally got there, but he's sick again and didn't feel like doing much. We tried to sit in the hot tub with the kids sitting out next to us, but Chloë started crying about wanting to swim. It didn't seem fair, so we left. I really hated that Rob barely got to have any fun, though.

I remembered ten minutes too late that the Croc station closed at 7 PM (why so early??), so I tried to go into another gift shop to see if they carried Crocs. They weren't expensive at all (shocking!), and I wanted to buy a pair desperately for my ever-aching feet. Well, the shop girl told me to go up to the main store and talk the manager into opening the Croc station just for me, since we were leaving that night. So I did, and guess what? She took me downstairs and opened the shop! Just for me! I'm telling you, they really went above and beyond at this place, 24/7. I was so impressed. I forgot to take a picture of the Crocs, but they are plain brown, nothing special. So comfy, though!

 

Of course, we had to do the penny press, since we always get them and do them for our scrapbooks. It was the last thing we did before picking up our cake (they kept it all day for us in the restaurant fridge!) and heading home.

I did manage to speak to the General Manager about all of his wonderful employees, and I'll probably write a letter, too, full of praise. This is definitely a must-see place. I enjoyed myself immensely, and I know the kids had a huge, fun time. Great Wolf Lodge, we'll be back!

Fin.

Some Schmuck

...stole my Obama sticker!!!

Right after Obama was elected, I got a free "Yes, We Did!" sticker from his campaign website or something. I've been meaning to put it on the van, but it keeps getting lost in the shuffle.

So Tuesday night, I finally put it on there. Rob went to work Wednesday, and when he came home, it was gone! Some putz ripped it off my car!!!

Ass.

And btw, we're back from the Lodge. Much more to come on that, but I have mucho pictures to edit!

Fin.