October 7, 2008
I remember back in my B.C. days (before children) a vacation meant something relaxing. Vacations meant a short jaunt to a neighbor island for some much needed R&R. I remember a couple of vacations that simply involved playing tourist in Waikiki with just me and my spouse.Although I am still allowed to take "vacation" days off from work, the meaning of vacation has changed drastically since I became a card-carrying Ubermom.
This week, I am officially on "vacation" with my kids, who are home for their school Fall Intersession. This translates into a never ending quest to find fun and interesting activities for my 12 year old Alex and 8 year old Mikaela that does not require me to draw on my home equity loan. (That takes away all trips to the Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park, Sea Life Park, and Bishop Museum. Movies barely make the cut. And thank goodness they have outgrown the Children's Discovery Center.)
Yesterday I tried to fit in a service call for my ailing automobile. I enticed the kids with a trip to IHOP for breakfast if they would not complain about having to walk from the repair shop to the mall. Unfortunately, we were 20 minutes too late for the early bird specials, so I ended up paying full price for breakfast, which was unbudgeted. Three hours later, the kids were crabby and my car was still in the shop. By the time we got home, we were all a bit tense.
Once at home, Alex decided it would be fun to play on the Eye Toy - Sony's initial attempt at motion activated gaming. A poor man's Wii. Glad to say, Ubermom still kicks butt in Kung Fu, boxing, and Wishy Washy. Unfortunately, it all went downhill when Mikaela noticed she was always at the bottom of the win list. She burst into tears when her fervent arm flailing failed to score in Rocket Launch.
It's a good thing Monopoly is still a good old stand-by. Mikaela beat the crap out of her high spending Ubermom. (What is a gal to do when landing on prime real estate?? Buy! Buy! Buy!) I ended up with a lot of expensive property and very little in the bank account. Mikaela bought two pieces of land and one house. All it took was for me to land on her property with the house and I ended up more bankrupt than the U.S. economy. The win was good for my 8 year old's self esteem, so it was worth it.
Today will be much simpler. We are going to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua at Regal Theatre - at matinee prices, of course. This was Mikaela's activity choice. Alex is going for the over priced concession stand food. Ubermom is going for the cold air conditioning and dark ambience. If I'm lucky, I'll be able to catch a quick nap before the credits roll!
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