While my children are NOT going to sleep

I am ignoring their chaos (as I have long since tucked them in), with full knowledge that tomorrow will be a real doozy. It is almost 10. And tomorrow is Monday.

Friday we left town for a little weekend getaway. It was loads of fun. We stopped at Baskin Robbins along the way for a buy one get one (or buy four get four) deal on the scoop of the month. Which. Was. Awesome.

(By the way, this week I pretended I was no longer following Weight Watchers, which I will likely regret when I weigh in tomorrow after a difficult morning with the children, see first sentence.)


By the time we arrived it was close to 8 o'clock, but we had to take advantage of the hotel pool. This was a way better than average set-up, sporting a small and shallow baby pool complete with sprinkling water, a regular pool equipped with two hoops and two balls to shoot into said hoops, and a heavenly hot tub.


Mr. Bloomers contined working as he had throughout the drive in, but finally reached a point where he could swim with us.


The evening went sour as the children argued about who would head up to the room when, but ended happily with chips and chocolate covered pretzel treats compliments of the arm and leg I sacrificed to the hotel pantry.

The next morning Mr. Bloomers again put in some billable hours and we again argued about who would leave at what time to head to breakfast, but eventually, everyone managed to eat, get dressed and pack up in non-record time.

Then it was off to the ice sculpture competition a half mile away. By the time we parked and bundled all of the children in the ridiculous kinds of layers required for living in this area of the country, we only managed to catch the last five minutes of sculpting work before the judges called time.

The snow creations were truly astounding. The detail, the form, and the physics involved are beyond my capacity to understand. Here I would insert the wonderful photos we took to capture such beauty had I realized that when Mr. Bloomers put up blizzard pictures earlier in the week on facebook that he didn't actually empty the memory card to the computer. Limited space meant I took pictures of the children, and not the sculptures.


Google "Lake Geneva Winterfest" and I'm sure you'll get a taste of the beauty through someone else's lens. (PS I am not pregnant, however, I am no longer a size 4 and my extra-small coat is looking, well, extra small these days. After viewing this picture I might have to invest in the next bigger size lest I spread false rumors!)

Anyhow, the festival included helicopter rides which we thought would be SO COOL! Until I discovered that it would require both of my legs and arms in payment, and as I had already given up two limbs in the hotel pantry, we were fresh out of luck. (Seriously, $40 per body for 6 minutes in the helicopter...yes, $280 bucks for our little family for SIX MINUTES!)


However, I was able to salvage the joy of our children by hiring OshKosh and his carriage driver to take us on a half-hour ride through historic Lake Geneva.


Despite the pain of frostbite in my toes, and Princess' several attempts at leaning off my lap and out of the carriage to the street below, it was a fantastic ride.


And very reasonably priced at $55 including a $10 tip.


By then the children were famished (as it is so hard to sit and ride in a carriage) and Max was coming unglued as he realized that a helicopter ride was truly not in his immediate future, so we headed across the street to Popeye's where the good karma I've been sending out for years finally came back at me in the form of a small miracle.

There was a terrifying long queue to even put in one's name (terrifying if your many children are unraveling after a late night swim). We had scarcely been in said queue for but a few minutes when an employee asked if anyone had a larger party, larger than four. I shot my remaining hand up lightning quick and blurted, "Seven! We have seven."

"Right this way."

The magic words sent our family past many tired and hungry people straight to a table. The hostess explained that they had an abundance of smaller parties today.

I have NEVER gotten priority seating for being a large party, but boy was I grateful. It was like winning the lottery.


Our meal was scruptious, though it ended with children prostrate on the floor refusing to move forward even one more step. We had planned to head by the sculptures to cast our vote for the People's Choice award, but the large crowds and expired children prevented such a mission.

Regrouping, we headed to the car, ducking into a delectable chocolate shop on the way. The fragrance of homemade fudge given life before our very eyes was entrancing. I gave up my other arm and leg for a little bag of divine sweets and after stripping the crew of their outer layers, we headed home.