TAKE THAT, CALIFORNIA!!!

Wisconsin Dells Count-down (up?):

One night ($55!),
Two days,
Three babies,
Four families,
Five kids,
Six hours driving (3 there, 3 back),
Seven adults,
Eight bucks for a pretzel and chicken fingers at the resort cafe (LAME! but it's okay because...),
Nine free admissions to the waterpark,
Ten o'clock bedtime,
100% AWESOMENESS!

That's right, all you who think a Midwesterner can't wear swimwear for Spring Break! We can, did, and didn't have to worry about tanning first, because DON'T NOBODY GOT A TAN around here yet:
Last week we drove to the Wisconsin Dells with some of our other Business School friends. We got there around noon and went straight to CULVER'S. Culver's is the reason that Midwesterners are so happy, but also the reason that they are also maybe less trim than the rest of the country. My personal favorite is the kids' meal: a full sized butter-burger with cheese, adult-sized serving of fries, medium soda, and a helping of frozen custard (much better and higher fat content than ice cream) that is about four times bigger than what I would personally alott to my child. That's about $4.00. So good.
After filling our guts at Culver's, we headed to the New Concord Inn where we had reservations. We were able to check into our rooms early, jump into our suits (grateful that we could squeeze into them after our satisfying lunch) and hit the pool!














The kids loved the little waterplay area. We could have just stayed there for days, I think. We played and played and played. We had dinner in the conference room--pizza, salad, clementines, chips, cookies...yum. Exactly what you're hungry for after a day in the pool, right?
We headed off to bed and while the kids got to bed a little later than their normal bedtime, I think all of the adults were grateful that we were forced to go to bed earlier than we normally do.

Let me shout out to the sweet sweetness that is the NEW CONCORD INN in the Wisconsin Dells. Each family stayed for $55/night, and that included a clean room with a microwave and small fridge and two queen beds. The staff was as friendly and helpful as any I've ever stayed with, and the deal couldn't be better. The hotel includes an indoor pool with small waterplay area perfect for kids about 7 and under. This hotel gets raving reviews from me! I will never need another hotel when staying at the Dells.




The next morning the plan was to go to Chula Vista's indoor waterpark and pay $30 admission for each child over two. As I ought to have expected, Robyn, Queen of the Good Deal, found a coupon. A two-for-one coupon to the waterpark! Then the hotel Manager (Joseph) called the resort and asked them to 'take good care of us'. That provided Robyn with one less ticket to pay for, too! (they would have had to pay for Jacob).
The waterpark was great fun. Most of the slides the kids could go on, the kids water play area was safe, not over crowded, and fun. Cadence had a blast, and Campbell enjoyed it, too, once she got used to it. The lazy river (actually, it was called the "Action River", ha ha) was too shallow and not much fun, but otherwise, it was a great park for a day.

Thanks to everybody who came along and made it a memorable experience. If everybody hadn't been so low maintenance it wouldn't have been so stress-free. Thanks to the Fella's for having a week off of school. And thanks again to the New Concord Inn for making it so dang affordable!

*

Enough is Too Much

It's 6:00 AM. That translates to "middle of the night" to me. I've been up for 30 minutes and will probably be up for 30 more, or maybe I'll just be up for the day. Campbell is 8 months old and still wakes up to eat. But she doesn't just wake, eat, and sleep. She wakes, eats, and then talks, plays, and whines for at least an hour, sometimes 90 minutes. And she doesn't have her own room, so I can't just put her down and let her deal with it. Normally it happens from about 4:30 to 5:30.
But what gives? Is it normal that she won't go back to sleep after eating? I don't hang out and play with her, I don't give her extra love and attention. I leave the lights off. In fact, a lot of times she has a stuffy nose so she sleeps in her car seat (the upright position helps breathing), so I just grab the carseat and take it out of the room, give her the bottle and stay out of sight....but the point is I just leave her in the carseat...aaaaaaaaaaaauuuugh. What to do?

Mom, I want some more Yucky Germs.

I tried to correct her. "LLLLucky CHAAARMS", I said. But twenty minutes later she had eaten all the marshmallows, none of the regular cereal, and was asking for more, "Yucky Germs".

Considering all the condemning talk we've had about germs and yuckiness lately (as we recover from a stomach virus that has been the latest epidemic in our neighborhood), I would think that a name like that would give her pause. Nope.

Oh, Joy!

We've been doing Joy School for about six or seven weeks, now. That means I've taught four lessons. While it feels like teaching kittens, sometimes (just imagine yourself with a flannel board and little puppets and your audience is three kittens. You'll get the picture.), it is also really fun. The kids love it, that's for sure.
The class consists of Jacob:

Molly:

And Cadence:

Here are some pictures from my lessons last week:

After Cadence and Jacob got soaked playing "What Floats?" (A game where I give them random household items--earrings, receipts, tin foil, fridge magnets, etc--and they put it in a bowl of water and see what happens...), I wised up and the next time, they played in their skivvies.


Above: Cadence and Jacob making dishsoap paintings: one cup dishsoap and one cup water, beaten with a hand mixer. They loved it. This took me SOOOO long to mop up (can you imagine?) but my floor has NEVER been cleaner, I'm sure!
Molly chose to do her own experiment instead of paint with soap: She had to know how each shoe fit, how it fit with socks on/off, and how each shoe looked with each other shoe. It was a big project.

Below: Molly is busy with the Pretend Play Corner. She's changing the doll's diaper. So cute.

And, of course, my personal favorite of every Joy School Day: rest time. The kids love to get down with their blankets and pillows and pretend to rest. They don't really, but at least they are sort of quiet....it's so sweet.

It really has been a joy to teach these kids the little joys in life. Especially Interest and Curiosity (which was my topic last week), which taught them to ask questions, enjoy learning and experimenting, and experiencing. It reminds me to take myself less seriously and just enjoy being a part of this great adventure called Cadence's Life.

What?!?

Thanks, Eryn. I just found this through Eryn's blog.
Okay, who can recreate an anthropologie piece and only spend $6? Some of us just dream about having enough money to spend over 100 on a cardigan. She makes her own and then gives it away? I want to be friends with you, grosgrain!
Anthropolification Boyer Cream Cardi GIVEAWAY!!!! GIVEAWAY!!!!