Thursday, July 10, 2008

Home again, home again..

I managed to do no grave physical damage nor apply duct tape in creative ways to any family member, are you not proud of me?

First off, I do genuinely love them- however in my mind there can indeed be such a thing as too much togetherness.. So I tend to try and make sure we all get a little alone time somewhere in the course of any trip. I could have used a wee bit more truthfully..

Knowing full well that this bastion of north woods tacky offended my sensibilities, The Beast further realized, upon entry to said hotel, this was akin to taking a day off from your kids and choosing to go to Chuck E Cheese for lunch- He tried to make amends as best he could, which was duly noted and appreciated. The spa was not bad, I wouldn’t make a day trip to get there, but all in all more than adequate. As the area is also the land of major outlets, I did do some power shopping. This nearly made up for hundreds of small screaming children in an indoor water park. Which I have to admit, was pretty darn well done for a self contained attraction.. And as the weather sucked, it turned into a good thing, as the Hurricane would have been bored out of his skull.. However, the lad seemed to not understand that there’s only so much time an adult human is going to spend immersed in chlorine going down water slides and thus got a bit of an attitude when I drew the line at around 4 hours.. but thankfully I wasn’t forced to jerk a knot in him, so it all worked out.

Well the night before departure the boys were a bit cranky and had no desire to go out for dinner, so I ordered a pizza and abandoned them to take Miss Thing out for dinner. It was genuinely delightful. Fabulous meal, exceptional service and the chef was absolutely adorable and plied us with a lovely lagniappe in the form of a few small plates. Most satisfactory, all the way around. But truthfully it was fun spending time with my girl. She loved our spa time together, but she really seemed to get a kick out of having me to herself for a very adult meal. She’s growing up so fast, it was nice to be able to sit and appreciate her as a teenager for a little bit, a mature teen I grant you, but still possessed of those few fun things that make them enjoyable at that age- when you are graced with one of their non butthead moments, grab them!

Now to go forth and tackle Mt. Washmore and get things back to what passes for normal around here.. How the hell can four people generate that much laundry?

15 comments:

evilganome said...

Okay, I admit it, I had to google "lagniappe". But, I am glad you managed to make it through the vacation without having to bury any bodies at midnight.

Chuck E Cheese as a resort! (shudders) I hope that they appreciate that you are a saint!

sageweb said...

Ha I googled it too..now I know something new. Yippee. Glad you had a good time with your daughter, it sounds delightful. Extra donut for you!

Sling said...

'Lagniappe' in the south,..'Kick down' in the west.
I get it! :)

Sounds like you secrectly had a wonderful time my dear.

Willym said...

Wikipedia has probably never had as many hits on the word "lagniappe" as it has today!

And I agree with Sling - sounds like you had a good time - even those 4 hours on the waterslide. And why wouldn't Miss Thing be delighted with her adult dinner when she had you as a dinner companion - I'm envious!

As to the washing thing - I still don't know how the two of us generate all the laundry we do so I'd hate to think of that x2.

Any pictures?

Doralong said...

Tony- See, you learned something new ;) I'm telling you honey- that's EXACTLY what it was!! And you'd think by now someone would, wouldn't you??

Sage- See comment one ;) It was a good time, I really hope by the time she's an adult human we'll manage to get out of this with a really good relationship- in spite of me being the evil mommy bitch that makes rules and draws lines and such.. Or at least I really hope so.

Sling- Well I'm always up for learning some regional lingo my friend.. never know when it might come in handy after all. And yeah, I actually did, she's a great kid. I really look forward to seeing what sort of grown up human she evolves into.

Doralong said...

Wills- It's funny I really kind of thought it was one of those expressions everyone knew.. jeeze I'm so regional ;) And that's 4 hours x4 sugar.. OY! My skin is itching something terrible! And dinner really was lovely, it's nice to view her out of context once in a while, it reminds me how lucky we really are- she's a great kid. I have high hopes for her as an actual functional and compassionate adult person.

booda baby said...

That was pretty wonderful of you take one for the Beast. In an admittedly odd way, you got two vacations: the Chuck E Cheese Inn and the visit to a strange and foreign land.

I would like you to know what I know now that someone told me so: Michael's The Craft Emporium has duct tape in a beeeeoootiful array of colors. Like purple. It goes well with families.

Anonymous said...

Now I see where your comment to me came form! Yeppie, traveling iwth kids is something else. I too manad not to inflict any grave bodily injury.

yellowdoggranny said...

cherish those mother and daughter times..they will be rare to have some day and you'll have to hog tie her to get her to even be in the same room with you...

you don't know the parent bullshit law?..you can bullshit them with false information to make them mind..like too much clorine on your privates will make them shrink and never grow back..then send them to the bathroom to check out their 'parts'..and naturally after 4 hours they are going to be a tad shriveled..they'll be out in a flash...
i like the medication im taking for my back..whwoooo

Anonymous said...

Now that I have stopped giggling over Yellowdog Granny's comment, I can type again. Glad you are home safe and sound, and that the trip was less painful than anticipated. Sounds to me that you actually had a pleasant time of it after all is said and done. Spa days and a good meal with a bright daughter, can erase many evils. I did not google lagniappe, and just going to pretend I am smarter than everyone else by making them assume I know its definition. (tell me later what it means, okay?)

Doralong said...

Booda- Colored duct tape!! How did I not know about this?? Damn now I have to go get a roll in red.

Citizen- That counting to twenty in Japanese trick helps.

Granny- I know the law- sadly I stupidly raised them to be expert bullshit detectors. We've been through the walking five steps behind in public stage already ;)

Tate- Haa.. you always crack me up. We'll talk about it later when everyone leaves..

Elizabeth said...

The husband and I lived in Williamsburg for a couple of years, and it's an odd, odd place. Glad you made it out with your sanity and their skins intact.

I treasure those rare times with my teens when they are actually enjoying being with mom. Glad you had that.

Jeff said...

Welcome back!

So glad you survived your vacation, and that you had a great bonding time with your daughter.

As I remember, my Mom and grandmother used to take "hen trips" in the summer. Something to consider...

Gavin said...

Sounds like a good time was had by all!

Kimberly Ann said...

Glad to hear it was a good trip. I vote for disposable, eco friendly, wholly biodegradable, made from switch grass, clothing for all trips - no vacation should be sullied with laundry.