Winter Vacation in the Dells

Hi everyone, I didn't let you all know (for security reasons), but we were in Wisconsin Dells for a week staying at our timeshare. We had a really good time. We ate too much, swam a lot, and relaxed. I read a whole book! (James Patterson At First Sight) I didn't get around to reading my new camera's owner's manual, but I hope to do that soon. I did, however, use the camera while we were gone.

In further developments: Captain is such a sweet big brother... most times. He is so good with Burbles and it was a joy just to watch the two of them play together without having to think about the laundry that should be done or the dishes or the cleaning or whatever else I should be doing other than enjoying my children. Except: now, Captain is into throwing things. Whatever he can. The other big problem with this is that he really doesn't throw things anywhere in particular--he just throws them. If they happen to land on his sister's head or foot or fingers and she starts wailing, well then that is just the way it is. She screamed yesterday when she got hit in the head with a toy. She sure is a girl. The blood curdling, ear piercing scream. Now, don't get me wrong, she does her fair share of naughty things too. She pulls his hair or tries to put her fingers in his eyes. But, she is learning. He knows better and he throws anyway. Any hints on what to do about this?

Burbles got another tooth while we were gone. That makes five. The kids are now 19 months and 8 months and they are a lot more reasonable to travel with. Although, their gear consumed the whole rear of our van. As I was checking out, I learned that the resort does provide pack and plays (Burbles would have been better in a Pack and Play than her carseat--where she slept the whole week after she protested on the first night about sleeping on the closet floor in our room--door open, of course) and high chairs at request (AHHHH) but they do not have baby gates or humidifiers (the two things I asked about). Also, when a place proclaims that they are child-friendly, they aren't talking about chemicals not under the sink, rounded edges on furniture, child locks on drawers and doors, crumbs on the floor under the furniture that we inevitably have to move to make room for a play area, or the massive amounts of salt that they spread on our doorstep every day to prevent ice buildup while endangering my child's life. (I guess they really didn't get it when I swept the porch every day to eliminate the chunks of salt and then left the broom outside to let them know that I was the one who did it... some random person didn't just remove the salt or the wind didn't blow it all away. But, once we were childproofed, Captain made sure to find every thing he possibly could to make our stay an interesting one. For example: Colander as Hat, Glass pyrex bowls thrown on tile (they really are unbreakable), measuring cups in the bathtub (which was HUGE, by the way), brass fireplace guard as sword. The list goes on. But really, we had a great time. Both kids really enjoyed the water and they both got more used to it and more brave each time we went swimming. Captain even went down the frog waterslide by himself at least 25 times in one night.

Then, of course there was the hibachi Japanese restaurant called Ginza of Tokyo. We love it there. The food is great and it is entertainment to boot.

Which brings me to yesterday--my birthday. Yesterday was a pretty down day for me. Fundi had to go back to work, so we came home. I had hoped that after a week of being gone that someone would want to hang out. The kids and I ended up hanging out after Fundi went to work. I made supper and then put the kids to bed. I ended up watching a movie and a half last night and eating Pop-Rocks instead of birthday cake. I ended up watching Waitress and half of Hairspray. Both movies were pretty good. I'll hopefully finish up Hairspray this afternoon during Captain's nap.

Oh, and the other big change in our house: Captain is sleeping downstairs so Burbles can sleep upstairs in her crib and I can sleep in my bed. Night last night actually went pretty well: Captain slept in his Pack-and-Play downstairs and Burbles slept upstairs in Captain's crib until we get her crib's mattress lowered as she is pulling up now and that is the last thing I need at two in the morning.
He was none too happy to be in here once he got there. Hope he doesn't do this again.
Burbles in Captains crib with Glowy. (We now have two Glowies because Glowy (1) had dead batteries when we got to the Dells and we figured that we should have Glowy 2 just in case. Captain was super excited to see that he now has two "Glowah" He sleeps with that and "Tiger" and "Blanket" All three are necessary for a successful sleep.

Dec. 13th at Ginza of Tokyo. This is tempura fried ice cream.
Yummm... He loved the ginger sauce and shrimp just like his Mommy.
Daddy and Burbles
A peaceful little sleeping boy. He is all puckered up waiting for a kiss.

Tubby pictures for your pleasure.

Captain attacking cousin Z with his chopsticks.
Burbles being sweet.
Sister-in-law J and Fiona. I don't know what that look was about?
FIRE. Captain didn't like the fire the second night he was there. It was big and hot.
Captain in one of those rides in the outlet mall. We bought him a pair of real boots while at the outlet mall and put them on his feet. He walked like he had planks on his feet. Pretty funny, although, they didn't stay on for longer than a few minutes for the whole weekend. Maybe he'll be like me and not love the shoes so much :).
Burbles looking pretty at the outlet mall.

Captain and mommy at home in early December.
Burbles and Fundi. Look, she can pull up.
Grumpa and Captain working on the teeter-totter in the pool.
Burbles and I in the pool getting used to the water.
Fundi and Captain. Lately he has had this strange fascination with putting his hands down the back of his pants and saying "Poop" or "Toot"... Captain--not Fundi.

My Birthday Dinner Guests