I know it has been awhile. October was a busy month and I had (and have) so much to share with you. But, fun fact— When you suffer two concussions in six days the doctor puts you on concussion protocol and one of the first things to go are light and screens. All light and all screens. But I’m back baby! Thank you for hanging in there!
Let’s jump in.
First off I want you to know that this is not going to be one of those “help you save money” blogs. Granted I did save some money and I have big plans to brag on that- Like when someone tells you they like your shoes and then you tell them what a great deal you got on them and you beam with pride? Like that. But regardless, this blog will not make you rich.
Here’s what you missed…
My daughter turned three in October.
Let’s just say NORMALLY we do kid birthdays big in this house. In the eight years of birthdays for my son we have rented park district pavilions, bounce houses, Kona Ice trucks. We’ve done Survivor-themed events for 50+ kids and their families. There have been trampoline parks, arcades, bowling alleys, and exploratory nature centers. Between the food and the entertainment we easily end up in the price range of a mini “getaway” vacation.
Hmm..wait a minute…this explains why my husband and I can’t seem to afford an annual mini “getaway” vacation. But anyway… we’ve spent a lot of time and money on these damn birthday parties.
But my poor daughter. We’ve really let her down in the birthday department.
Gone was the bragadocious “look at how we kept this baby alive for a year” ginormous 1st birthday party my son enjoyed. Also gone was the “look at how we kept this baby alive for two years” party. What can I say? We’ve been busy with moves, and jobs, and having two kids-one of which was a two-year old.
I mean really-she has only herself to blame.
For her 3rd birthday we owed her something special.
She’d been assuming the sale on a splash pad birthday since about May so it’s not like we didn’t know what to do, we just had to figure out how to make that happen in October.
Solution- Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine.
Honestly, the reason we waited so long to give this girl a proper birthday party is that we know from the first kid that they don’t remember all the fanfare. Not a single bit of it. I mean we didn’t, like, ignore her birthday. We just kept them simple. Family, a few friends, and some cake.
But three is that magic number my husband and I were counting UP to.
With three comes potty training, real beds, cutlery (except knives), less naps and- Thank You Jesus- Swim diaper FREE water events.
It is loosening of the reigns on her and the handcuffs on us.
It also means she is more equipped to take in the world around her, and man did she take it all in. We were going to make this one count.
The whole affair as with the other kid birthdays was NOT an exercise in effective expense management, but we did score a few deals.
This is where I brag.
Brag 1. We got a $50 off the room rate from Groupon. Now that I think about it though this may only be a half-brag since we ended up getting a much larger room then we needed and really didn’t stay long enough to enjoy it. But whatever. We got a room that could sleep 8 even though there were only four of us for $50 less than everyone else.
Brag 2. The Paw Pass. I love you Paw Pass. It’s $80 and the kids shared it. They got a stuffed animal, arcade games, candy, some magic wand game thing that involves running around the hotel and figuring out clues like a wizard. All types of stuff.
But now that I think about it, this is only a half-brag too since not only did I not know about the Paw Pass, I would not have known the kids could share it had it not been for a friend of mine.
Brag 3. After you stay you’ll get an email with a coupon for 50% off your next visit. So I just got 50% off a surprise Christmas gift for the kids! Which is great cuz we do Christmas just about as big as birthdays. If we can hold in the surprise, I am calling FULL BRAG on that one.
In the end we got to deliver the dream. A splash pad. Water slides. Swimming pools and movie stars (well, if you consider Violet the Wolf a movie star). I can honestly say that I’ve never seen her happier. They were both happy and that is a gift that keeps on giving.
As long as I keep getting these 1/2 off coupons.