Phone Messages for Non-existent (to me) People

Tell me, do you have an answering machine or voicemail that clearly states the name(s) of people using your phone number and still receive messages for persons unknown?  Because we do (especially on our cell phones), and it’s definitely irritating.  I can’t tell you how many times we get messages that say something like “Hi, Blaze.  We’re all going to the X Club tonight.  Hope to see you there!”  Was “Blaze” listed on the answering message?  No?  Then you HAVE THE WRONG NUMBER!!!!  

Are people too lazy to listen to the message?  Are they driving and distracted and should not be calling anyhow?  Or are they just plain dumb?  What the heck?  I don’t get it.  I mean, if I dial a number, and the message on the other end lists names of people I am NOT calling, then I don’t leave a message, and I try again to see if I misdialed.  If I get the same message, I re-check the number.  How hard is that? 

Baby Talk

Watching children develop language is a fun thing.  It's especially interesting to me to see the way they get their message across before they can truly talk. Ace is still in the preverbal stage of baby babbling, but he does point to get things he wants.  He will point to the food he wants more of, or he will point to his sleep sack when he wants to nap.  If I miss his nap hints, he might bite me wherever he can find skin (I am trying to break that habit).  He also finds other ways to get a message across, as he did last night.  

We usually take him up to bath at 7 or a little earlier if he gets a poopy diaper.  Around 6:30 or so, he went to the place where we keep the wipes and diaper cream and pulled them to the floor.  He ignored them for a few minutes, but eventually he brought the cream to Daddy.  Daddy already had the wipes because Ace had stepped on them, opening the container, and Daddy wanted to close them so they wouldn't dry out.  After another minute or two, he brings me the wipes.  I said, "Thank you" and put them behind me.  He then grabbed the cream from Daddy and brought it to me.  I said,"Do you have a poopy diaper?  I don't smell one."  A few minutes later, he grabs the cream from me and puts it in his dad's face.  Daddy just took it and wondered what was up.  Then, Ace yells, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" and goes to the gate that leads upstairs to his bath.  I said, "Do you want your bath already?"  He ran back to Daddy (who usually gives him his bath) and starts tapping him on the head.  Daddy said, "What would you like?" and I said, "I think he's made that clear, honey.  He said, "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaath!'"  Upon this pronouncement, Ace again yells, "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" and runs to the gate.  Guess he told us! 

A Trip to the North Pole Experience in Greer, AZ

Recently, my family and I went to The North Pole Experience in Greer, AZ.  We had a wonderful time.  We got a Blitzen package, which included a night’s stay in a private cabin, dinner, and breakfast for our family of four.  Greer is about a five hour drive from the Western side of the Phoenix area, where we live, so we were thankful that it is a very scenic drive, passing through Payson and Showlow.

The Cabin

Our cabin was in Antler Ridge and had two small bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a great room--it was the perfect size for our family of four.  The bedrooms each had a double bed, a small dresser (night stand size with three drawers), and a luggage rack in the closet.  We brought our pack n play for the baby to sleep in.  The great room had a fire place (they provided firewood and newspaper under the porch), a TV with Dishnetwork (Food Network!) and a DVD player, a pull-out sofa, coffee table, end table, and lamp.  The kitchen had a small table (seats four, but there were two additional folding chairs for our use), stove, refrigerator, basic dishes and pots and pans, and dish soap.  In the bathroom they provided soap and TP as a hotel would, but not shampoo, conditioner, facial tissue, or lotion.  We brought our own, so it wasn’t a big deal—I only share so that if readers decide to go, they know what to expect.  Our cabin did have a night light and a child safety gate, but I do not assume this is true of all of the cabins since they are privately owned but run by the rental agency.  Wi Fi was free to renters.  Cell service was pretty much non-existent. 

The only complaints I have about the cabin are that (1) the heaters in the bedrooms were too efficient and (2) the hot water heater was set too high.  If the bedroom heaters were on, they were too hot.  If they were off, we got too cold.  They were baseboard heaters (also used in the great room), so if you have a young child be warned that you will need to be vigilant as the heaters get hot.  Our one-year-old touched them and got upset (but no visible burn), but he kept trying to go after them again.  As for the hot water heater, it had a note on it not to touch it, so I don’t know if someone prior to us ignored the note and ramped it up or if the rental company keeps it set high in the winter (which wouldn’t make sense since it’s a legal liability), but I almost scalded myself in the shower.  I am just glad it wasn’t one of the kids.

Our Evening at the North Pole

After checking in for dinner at the Molly Butler Lodge, we got to sip hot chocolate (or other drinks) around a fire while we waited for everyone to check in and for the dining room to be readied.  The buffet dinner  includes standard fare such as salad and fruit as well as children’s favorites such as macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets and adult fare such as baked pork and prime rib.  The food was all pretty good.  There was pudding and a variety of cakes for dessert.  After dinner, an elf came to get us and we all boarded a trolley bus to the North Pole.  We had an elf driver and an elf guide.  Our guide explained what would happen when we reached the North Pole while working to ramp up our excitement and enthusiasm.  We sang a carol, and when it was time to go through the “portal,” we got to help the elf with the incantation.  We arrived at Santa’s Workshop, and after exiting the trolley and using the secret knock to gain entrance, we entered the toy museum, where Santa displays toys he invented.  These include things such as Lite Brite, Slinky, and the Red Ryder BB Gun from “A Christmas Story.”

The door to Santa's Workshop

After looking around the museum, the two elves who met us at the door got us ready to meet the head elf, Alabaster Snowflake.  He came out and showed us the compass that spins in circles, proving we were at the North Pole.  Then we went into the toy workshop to build toys.  Tink got to help dress a teddy bear, then put together a “Ram Rocket” which she then got to test by shooting the elves (the one rule was no head shots).  When toy-building was done, the kids got to eat sugar cookies with “snowman soup” (hot cocoa).  Then, it was on to “Elf University” where they learn some important rules about being good people.  Next came Santa’s office.  They had the opportunity to draw pictures for Santa or write him a note while asking questions of one of the elves.  The elves all had very good answers to the tricky questions about how Santa does what he does.  After Santa’s office, each family had a turn to go sit with Santa and have their pictures taken—with your own camera so there are no sales pitches. 

Mistletoe the Elf answering questions in Santa's Office

A toy mobile in Santa's Workshop

After photos with Santa, we loaded back up on the trolley.  The elves entertained us while we waited for everyone to get done with Santa.  On the way back to the Molly Butler Lodge, we sang carols.  Once everyone was back at the Lodge, there was an opportunity to listen to Mrs. Claus read stories while coloring.  Our family chose to skip this in order to go back to the cabin to roast marshmallows, especially since Ace was super tired.  At the cabin, we enjoyed a very nice fire after putting Ace to bed, and we all went to bed stuffed with s'mores (we brought the makings and the roasting forks).

Breakfast with Santa

The next morning, there was a breakfast buffet back at the Lodge.  They had just about everything you could think of—omelets, eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, French toast sticks, yogurt, cereal, and pastries.  While Santa waited for people to finish so they would come out to have pictures with him, he walked around talking to everyone to see if they were having a good time.  A couple of the elves came by as well.  Tink was kind of shy with both Santa and the elves, but they persisted and got plenty of smiles out of her.  We took pictures with the elves and Santa before leaving.

All in all, the experience was very fun and worthwhile.  The kids really enjoyed it, and everything seemed magical through their eyes.  The elves and Santa were all good at keeping everyone in the spirit.  Our favorite elves were Sparky (who could do gymnastic flips) and Mistletoe.  The only downer the entire trip came from someone else's rudeness, but you have to expect you might encounter at least one such person in a large group.

Crazy Morning

This morning was a bit crazy, I must say.  It started off normally enough.  Ace woke up as I was getting ready to go downstairs, so I got him up and fed him.  Tink came down to eat and got ready for school.  Since it’s Jimmy’s meeting day, I got the kids in the car to take TInk to school.  All was on schedule.  Then I found out one of the streets I take when going to the school was closed.  Usually they warn you for a whole week ahead of time.  Maybe we didn’t drive that way at all last week?  I thought we did, but it was vacation, and it all blurs together.  The alternate route was, of course, hectic.  It took about four lights to turn left to get back on track. 

When we got to the school, we had a couple of minutes before the five minute bell.  This would have been fine, except for the fact that half the school was waiting to get into the parking lot.  Now, a note here:  Tink is at the school on variance and therefore CANNOT ride a bus as no bus comes to our neighborhood.  The majority of the school can take the bus or walk.  Yet, there were about 20 cars when we got there (and 20 more when we left).  I know it was cold, but still, if I could put Tink on a bus or walk her, I would, even if it meant being in the cold for 10-15 minutes each morning.  So, most of the people who were drastically late had other options, but here we all were. 

When we finally got to the zone where you can drop off students, the five minute bell had rung.  A few kids were still getting out and I knew Tink could make her line before they got to her classroom, so I let her go,  mainly because there was not a single parking space to be had AND there were about 20 cars still waiting to get into the parking lot.  There were also about 10 cars trying to get out, but they couldn’t because they all wanted to turn left on the main street by the school and they weren’t willing to get out a different way and turn around.  I don’t really understand this as everyone was running late, and I would think they’d want to get a move on.  Even if they had all the time in the world, they could see that others were trying to get in so their kids wouldn’t miss a lot of class—couldn’t they have done something different so everyone else could drop off their kids?  The car in front of me chose to go a different route and turn around, and I went a different route back to the freeway.   But most of the cars just stayed there in their traffic jam.  I suspect some of them didn’t get out of the school lot until 20 minutes after school started.

So, after all this craziness, Ace and I get back to our neighborhood, only to see some more craziness.  It was 35 degrees outside, and there were children outside in short sleeves with no jacket.  Where are the parents?  Why are they letting the kids out like that?  One kid looked like he was in eleventh and twelfth grade—I can see where his parents might have let him have his way, though if he was my kid and I let him have his way in this, I’d make sure he understood that if his immunity was lowered and he caught a cold because of it, he would be paying any doctor’s fees or for any medicine he needed once he got sick.  Kids need to understand there are consequences.  But the 9-10 year old is young enough for his parents to be insisting “You will do as I say and wear a jacket until you are inside your school and if anyone tells me you did different, you are in big trouble!”  I hate seeing this because while I don’t know all of the particulars, I see so many examples these days of people who fail to parent their kids.  I don’t know if it is because they are trying to be their kids’ friends or what.  All I know is that I’m my kids’ parent first, and their friend second.  If I have to make them mad at me in order to keep them healthy or safe, then I do it.  So, my kids should be forewarned—they will be wearing jackets when it’s cold out for as long as I have a say in the matter, OR ELSE!!!!