Family Travel: Love and Hate at the Great Wolf Lodge

I stretched out my arm, wrist up to the cashier. She scanned the bar code on the green band that has been secured in place for the past two days and charged my account.

Listless, I no longer felt pain in the transactions.  During our stay at the Great Wolf Lodge in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania I gave up trying to add up how much I spent. My arms were weak from excessive time holding up my four-year old in the wave pool. My legs were like jelly from traipsing up and down the stairwells and hallways of the resort playing MagiQuest with my older girls. My mind was fuzzy from too many trips to the chocolate fountain at the buffet.

My kids still had plenty of energy. Jacked up on ice cream and $3.00 Cokes they were always ready to move on to the next water slide, agility course, or activity. My body screamed for a long soak in the hot tub, which is not quite as relaxing as expected when you are joined by your own (and other people’s) kids.

New arrivals can be spotted in the crowd instantly. Parents are bright and shiny, excited for their trip, pointing out all the great things to see and do, camera in hand, laughing and smiling along with their kids.

That lasts for precisely twelve hours, when parents transform into zombie like participants, trailing behind their kids, smiling as much as they can with a depleted energy reserve and bank account. They’re  resigned to the fact that retirement will  need to be pushed out five more years to cover the costs of the trip. And they understand that they will not catch up on sleep until they return home.

It’s a love hate relationship for parents. Here’s why:

• Guest Rooms: My 4 year-old asked on the first night, “Can this be our new house?” Kid friendly rooms with bunk beds tucked into pseudo caves and tents, loft bedrooms and patios make your stay comfortable. During a holiday week or weekend, you can expect to pay between $400 and $800 per night (in the Pennsylvania location, prices vary at Great Wolf Lodge resorts across the country). The water park is included in the cost of the room.
• Food: We loved the kid friendly food like giant PB &J sandwiches, burgers, fries, hot dogs and chicken fingers. There’s a Pizza Hut Express on site and a candy and ice cream shop. Starbucks will keep you caffeinated. You’ll need it. Over the course of a few days, you may grow tired of the selection. There are healthy options, but they are seldom chosen.  I began to hate the chocolate fountain with the enormous selection of items to slather– from Rice Krispie Treats and cookies to pretzels and fruit. If you are trying to avoid sweets, this is not the place for you.
• Indoor Water Park: It’s the main attraction at Great Wolf Lodge and it will keep the kids entertained for several days. They may never get tired of it, but you probably will! There are areas specifically designed for toddlers and preschoolers, waterslides for the whole family to enjoy together and a few slides for the thrill seekers. You won’t be disappointed. The down side? Many parents didn’t supervise their kids to my satisfaction. I may be a little overprotective, but many kids roamed free without a parent in sight. Plenty of life guards are on hand, but I couldn’t help getting a bit nervous. And a kid pooped in the wave pool. That just ruined it for me.
• MagiQuest: My kids loved this as much as the waterpark. This interactive game will consume your kids for days as they search the floors of the resort to find clues, save pixies and fight dragons and wave their wand  at verything in sight. Beware! Stepping in to the shop to buy your wands and entry into the game can be a shock! It will cost a minimum of $35 per child, but could easily climb to $60 or $70 for premium wands, dragon or princess wand toppers, decorative pieces and magical runes added on. We played long after checkout to complete the game and receive the Master Magi certificates and buttons. It was absolutely worth the cost.
• Cub Club: For a mere $7 your child can paint their own pottery. This is the best deal in the place and various crafts are available. There is also a book nook and games for the kids to play for free when they need a little down time.
• Story Time and Show:  Held in the lobby each evening, this is a treat for younger children. Weekend nights can draw a crowd, making it difficult to see and hear the animatronics show, but the kids will like it anyway.
• The Arcade: Fairly standard, it could use a little updating with a wider range of games.  
• Scoops Spa for Girls: We skipped this, so I can’t give you an accurate review, but the spa offers ice cream manicures, pedicures and facials and promises to pamper your little princess. At $79 for a mani-pedi, the spa visit needs to wait until your girls are done with the water park, so it won’t get washed away.

“Mom, when can we come back here?” My kids started asking this question  before we  checked out, followed by “We will come back, right?” Maybe. Okay, yes. We would most likely do this again.

I’m young (enough). I don’t need a retirement fund yet.

School Day Woes

Weekday mornings are torture at my house. It’s Wednesday. Like any other day of the week, I have three daughters who are doing their best to stay home from school. For various reasons, they don’t want to go. There’s too much work, the bus ride is too long, it’s too cold outside; lately I’ve even heard the air hurts my eyes.

My first grader is the most extreme in her efforts. She’s locked herself in the bathroom until the bus passes our house. She’s faked throwing up, having a terrible cough and countless tummy aches. Many, many times I’ve taken her out to the bus crying. She’s typically fine once the bus driver shuts the door and we all move on from the drama.

Yesterday she took a different approach. She told me that she really needed some mommy time. Aww. I thought. That may be the most creative effort yet. I refused to believe that she was manipulating me. I’m still convinced that there was a bit of truth to her statement. She misses me. I put her on the bus and sent her off anyway, feeling like an ice cold mama.

Today, she topped it. When it was time to get dressed, she became a ragdoll, claiming her legs stopped working. So I dressed her flimsy limbs, right down to her snow boots. She fell off the chair when I pulled her pants up and lay on the floor while I finished getting her coat on.

Now, she’s a small kid, even for seven, but I’m not feeling so great these days and it was more than a little difficult to carry her, limp and teary all the way to the bus stop. With her back pack over my shoulder I carried her, putting her down when I could hardly hold her up anymore with a warning, “the ground is cold and dirty.” She didn’t care. She continued being a ragdoll. 

The bus pulled up and I lifted her as high as I could to place her on the stairs on the bus. She collapsed on the step. I informed the driver of the problem. She tried to stifle her laugh, saying, “I know, I have three.” I hauled her up another step, then to the landing next to the driver. 

My darling didn’t get up. So I lifted her up another step. Without using words, the driver and I exchanged a look. She would close the doors, I would wait out of sight (still panting) and we assumed my darling daughter would get up and move to her seat.

The door shut. I watched the driver try to convince her to take her seat.  I waited in the cold, feeling like quite the failure. Finally, the driver motioned to me to come back. My daughter was not moving, though she was able to tell me that her cough had gotten much worse. I put my aching arms out to her and she fell into them. I brought her back to the end of our driveway and gently set her down as the bus pulled away.

It was an outstanding, award worthy performance. She coughed for me then, repeating that she “thinks it would be best for her if she just stayed home and took it easy for the day.”

What’s a mom to do?  I have to admit that she truly out did herself. I can respect that. Although I was frustrated, embarrassed by my inability to get my child to go to school and all around exhausted by just 9 a.m., I smiled a little to myself.

This kid’s got talent, I thought. Someday, her persistence is going to pay off. Just like today.

And some day she’ll outgrown this phase and I’ll be able to look back and laugh.

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A Mom's View of the Man Cold

Growing up, I always thought my mom was the healthiest person alive because she never seemed to get sick.  Of course, the truth was that she just never took any time off when she was under the weather.  Moms are amazing. We can give birth and get right back to getting things done in no time. The common cold is a mere inconvenience. It takes so much more than that to slow us down. Right?

Yet, oddly enough, a man gets a cold and can’t move for three days. Isn’t it mind boggling how easy it is to take down an otherwise strong, meat eating, beer drinking man…with a little sniffle? 

It’s okay guys. I know you can’t help yourselves. 

Ladies, when you get a cold, do you get a day off? No. If you get a headache, do you stop doing laundry and cooking dinner? No. If you have the flu, do you get excused from taking the kids to school or changing diapers? No, because you are a mom. 

So, I’m raising my coffee cup in a toast today, to all the moms (mine included) who continue the hard work of motherhood when they are sick, tired and yes, even when they have a cold.

This video is for you, ladies. If you have ever stumbled over a man with a cold while trying to get all the many things you need to get done in a day, you’ll understand!

The New Girl

I’m the new editor here at Eye On Moms and I’m absolutely thrilled about it.  So let’s get aquianted.

My name is Amy. I’m a wife and a mom of three little angels. Okay, they aren’t always angelic and they aren’t that little anymore, but I can still see their halos through the attitudes, occasional defiance and constant drama they offer up. I keep rules and schedules to a minimum, mostly because I don’t like to stick to them myself. As a result, my life is a touch chaotic.

I read. I write. I drive kids around from here to there and back again. I’m a homework tutor, a maid and a cook. I’m horse crazy, like a teenage girl. I love to talk about horses, watch them run, listen to the sound of their hoofs at a trot, canter, gallop. 

Did I mention my amazing little rescue dog? I’m so taken with her beautiful relisient spirit. Her transformation from scared and …to happy, playful and trusting has been an inspiration to me. She’s a beautiful example of how a little love can change a life. I’m not ashamed to admit that I have something to learn for this canine.

 Okay, I know. Enough about the dog already.

What you can expect from me (aside from banter about my dog):

Obviously, my family is the center of my world, so you can bet on a variety of parenting topics…with humor. Below you’ll find a few more topics that I just love to go on and on about.

•  Getting my act together: I recently set a goal to simplify my life. This includes getting my house organized (even just  a little), to make daily life less stressful. We could all benefit from simplifying our lives, so I’ll be on the lookout for ideas to help. No worries, I’ll share.
• Relationships: I want to explore the connections we create with our children, mothers, siblings and friends. I’m intrigued by the fact that many of us (no matter how hard we try) become our mothers and more so by the idea that we come to understand our mothers from a new angle with age. I lean on knowledge that someday my girls will understand why I did this or that, or nothing at all.
• Challenges of the Working Mom: All moms work hard. Whether you work in the home or out, there are issues that drive us to the edge. Talking about them can keep us from launching over the side. 
• Family Time: I’ll share what we’re reading, watching and playing here at our house, both my favorites and my kid’s picks.

Occasionally, I’ll get deep. More often I’ll be light and airy about topics that you can relate to as a mom, woman, dreamer and occasional control freak. Sometimes I’ll need to rant, rave and be utterly dramatic about things that are utterly boring otherwise. Always, I’ll be as honest as I possibly can.

I hope you will join me often, comment and send questions or suggestions for topics you’d like to see me cover…or tackle, shred and joke about.