After hanging out in the warm indoor pool in Lake Geneva during our overnight stay, we retired to our room for the night. That's right, 'room' as in singular. We operate under the 'what they don't know will save us a bundle' philosophy. The kids have grown accustomed to our ability to cram extra bodies into a hotel room. They complain loud and long, but we usually make it work.
With sleeping bags and an air mattress in tow and a request to the front desk for a roll-away bed, we squeeze into the tight space ordering the kids to keep their complaints to a minimum.
Of course we tick the kids off even more by bringing our own food. Filling a cooler with breakfast and lunch fixings cuts down on the potentially huge expense of feeding the crew at restaurants. In addition I packed one huge bag with bread, cereal, granola bars, and other munchies.
Without the ability to lurk around undetected in extra rooms like he is accustomed to at home, Tank suffered. He was unable to sneak and ingest an entire huge package of anything in our close hotel quarters.
Transporting dinner to the hotel is a no-brainer for this seasoned cheapo. Sunday morning before we left I plugged in a crock pot of leftover Chicken Tortilla Soup. Despite the fact that my favorite small appliance was still toasty, I drove with it nestled between my calves on the ride up. After we checked into the room, I plugged it in and a few hours later I served dinner in the comfort of our overcrowded hotel room.
With sleeping bags and an air mattress in tow and a request to the front desk for a roll-away bed, we squeeze into the tight space ordering the kids to keep their complaints to a minimum.
Of course we tick the kids off even more by bringing our own food. Filling a cooler with breakfast and lunch fixings cuts down on the potentially huge expense of feeding the crew at restaurants. In addition I packed one huge bag with bread, cereal, granola bars, and other munchies.
Without the ability to lurk around undetected in extra rooms like he is accustomed to at home, Tank suffered. He was unable to sneak and ingest an entire huge package of anything in our close hotel quarters.
Transporting dinner to the hotel is a no-brainer for this seasoned cheapo. Sunday morning before we left I plugged in a crock pot of leftover Chicken Tortilla Soup. Despite the fact that my favorite small appliance was still toasty, I drove with it nestled between my calves on the ride up. After we checked into the room, I plugged it in and a few hours later I served dinner in the comfort of our overcrowded hotel room.
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| Home sweet hotel room. Our trusty crock pot and other food related debris. You can barely see the tops of Mini and Curly's heads as they watch Happy Gilmore. |
As they inhaled their dinner, they draped their long bodies across the beds and the floor. We tried to find something suitable for the entire family to watch. What a chore! Different ages and various interests translate to loud voices voting and begging for their movie pick.
Unfortunately, I held the remote. If I clicked past something 'awesome', I heard moans. When I failed to select something questionable, there were heavy sighs. At last in order to gain more choices, we joined a free, month-long trial of Netflix offered by our hotel smart TV.
Turns out lots of choices is also a slippery slope. After eternity passed, we settled on 'The Jungle Book.' When it was finished we watched a few minutes of Adam Sandler in 'Happy Gilmore' as we assigned beds and encouraged everyone to go to sleep.
Curly announced that she couldn't find Baby Bear. 'Baby Bear' has been her sleeping companion since birth. Her exhausted mother assured her that her tattered lovey was probably in the car. This didn't thrill her. The fact that she still cuddles up to a stuffed toy is grounds for serious sibling teasing, so she didn't make a fuss
She made a sad face and planted her head on the pillow on her roll-away bed that was wedged between the TV and the foot of my bed.
I tried to remember why we thought it would be relaxing to all sleep in the same room. Talk about family bonding. I was drifting off to sleep but was jolted awake each time Coach scolded a kid for talking, or making the air mattress squeak, or some other infraction.
In the middle of the night, Coach and I awoke to Reggie's sobs. Actual sobs. So uncharacteristic. He was cold. Eddie had yanked all of the blankets from him. Eddie woke up and covered Reg so we could continue enjoying sleeping in close proximity to one another.
I tend to think all of the effort that goes into hauling the family somewhere should mandate a lengthier stay. At the same time, I must admit that I was relieved to think that we wouldn't be 'sleeping' (and I use the term loosely) in the same room again the next night.
Unfortunately, I held the remote. If I clicked past something 'awesome', I heard moans. When I failed to select something questionable, there were heavy sighs. At last in order to gain more choices, we joined a free, month-long trial of Netflix offered by our hotel smart TV.
Turns out lots of choices is also a slippery slope. After eternity passed, we settled on 'The Jungle Book.' When it was finished we watched a few minutes of Adam Sandler in 'Happy Gilmore' as we assigned beds and encouraged everyone to go to sleep.
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| Tank shared space on my bed to watch TV. He was given a sleeping bag on the floor for the night since he had the good fortune of going to Hilton Head for most of break. Curly's knee is visible on her roll-away bed. I hoped no one would need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night since walking space was non-existent. |
Curly announced that she couldn't find Baby Bear. 'Baby Bear' has been her sleeping companion since birth. Her exhausted mother assured her that her tattered lovey was probably in the car. This didn't thrill her. The fact that she still cuddles up to a stuffed toy is grounds for serious sibling teasing, so she didn't make a fuss
She made a sad face and planted her head on the pillow on her roll-away bed that was wedged between the TV and the foot of my bed.
I tried to remember why we thought it would be relaxing to all sleep in the same room. Talk about family bonding. I was drifting off to sleep but was jolted awake each time Coach scolded a kid for talking, or making the air mattress squeak, or some other infraction.
In the middle of the night, Coach and I awoke to Reggie's sobs. Actual sobs. So uncharacteristic. He was cold. Eddie had yanked all of the blankets from him. Eddie woke up and covered Reg so we could continue enjoying sleeping in close proximity to one another.
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| This is Reggie's small body under the covers hours before his older brother Eddie pulled them from him accidentally in his sleep. If Laddie had been with us, it would have been a bigger struggle to squeeze everyone in. |
I tend to think all of the effort that goes into hauling the family somewhere should mandate a lengthier stay. At the same time, I must admit that I was relieved to think that we wouldn't be 'sleeping' (and I use the term loosely) in the same room again the next night.
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