First There Were Two...

Let me begin by letting you in on a little secret.
I married a Frenchman.
Sounds exotic does it not?  In fact, I like to say we honeymooned in France for the first nine months of our marriage.  And we did.  Except my Frenchman is really a Renaissance man born and raised in Indiana.  With the heart of a Frenchman and a fabulous grasp of the French language that throws off many a French national, he set off to embrace all that is French.  Uh, that is except for me.  Don't get me wrong, he embraces me but I am not French...just your basic American with a pretty good hold on sarcasm as a second language.  But I digress. So back in 1993 after we wed, we set off on an adventure.  With my PhD candidate husband, we got to live in Grenoble, France while he was on an exchange teaching program at the Universite Stendhal teaching English to French college students.

What was I going to do all day?  I didn't speak the language.  And, keep in mind, this was back in the day when people wrote letters to communicate and we went to a pay phone to call home to the States. Dear foreign gods that makes me feel ancient.  So suffice it to say, I wasn't able to sit in a cafe all day playing Candy Crush on Facebook with my iPad.  Est alors, I did what every French person does.  I walked.  I walked to the boulangerie practically two to three times a day.  In the morning for a pain au chocolat and then a baguette for lunch and dinner.  Keep in mind, this is the woman who can speak "hello", "please", "thank you" and "good bye" in French like a native.  So my pain au chocolat supplier and I had begun to recognize one another.  It was time to branch out with my French.  I decided to ask her how much my drug of choice the pain au chocolat was.  It went something like this:

Me: "Combien pour le pain au chocolat?" (How much for my hooch?)

My Drug dealer: "trois quatre-vingts"

Me: "Répéter s'il vous plaît." (Repeat please -with a very nervous smile on my face)

My Drug Dealer: "trois quatre-vingts"

Me: "Répéter s'il vous plaît." (Repeat please -but said very s-l-o-w-l-y since I didn't know the word for "slowly")

My Drug Dealer (with a line of annoyed French people behind me ready for a second revolution): "Three eighty" - said in a surly voice.

 Hanging my head in shame I paid the woman, grabbed my little bit of flaky chocolatey goodness and went to eat away my sorrows at failing miserably with my first attempt at branching out with the French.  At this rate I am sure I will never make it through nine months if "eighty" translated is "four twenties".  I was doomed.

Ah, did I forget my secret weapon?  I had my Frenchman!  Hearing him speak French was all the aphrodisiac a newlywed needed.  And eventually I became more adventurous and willing to use my dismal French.  I embraced my mistakes and today they make for great stories at cocktail parties.

But who am I kidding?
Cocktail parties?
More like birthday parties or pizza parties or play dates and if we are lucky an adult beverage (for the adults) is included!  Years later my Frenchman is now a tenured French Professor and I am a seasoned (because they don't give tenure in my line of work) clinical social worker. We have a 13 year old son and an 8 year old daughter that keep us busy.  The Professor gets to travel to France at least once a year with his work.  But me?  I get to stay home with the kids.

Uh-huh.

You see, traveling abroad, as you all may guess, requires planning, time off to go, and, oh, income.  A humanities professor and a social worker aren't exactly making the big bucks.  So the professor embraces his inner Frenchman every year while we hold the fort down until he returns.  We want to go to France as a family.  The kids are ready for their French adventure.  But having lived abroad plus being attached to our sanity, we knew that when we went as a family to France we would need to stay in an apartment.  This is where our desire to travel abroad as a family and Go with Oh paths converged.  Who better to test an Go with Oh apartment in France than the Professor, his sarcastically witty wife and their two children?  We would really put that apartment to the test.  And I have found the perfect one.

In the 11th Arrondissement, Go with Oh offers this Charming Art Studio that has a little bit of everything for the whole family.  I am imagining I might open the door and find Amelie sitting on the couch dreaming up her next adventure.

And then I see the terrace and my breath catches just a bit.  Room to breath.  To just take it all in.  -That is if the kids will be quiet for two minutes and stop asking me where they can get some real food around here and when are we going to see the Eiffel Tower- Back to my fantasy...

Oh, but wait, what did I read?  Does this apartment come with a mini-Mac and wireless internet?  My kids will think they have died and gone to heaven.  Come on...who am I kidding...I will think I have died and gone to heaven too.  The last time I was in France the closest thing we had to the internet was our friend's Minitel. Curious?  Follow the link and learn something new, my dear readers.  But having internet access may shut my children up keep our children occupied while my husband and I catch our collective breaths on the terrace and reminisce about when it was just the two of us.

This lovely slice of Paris that we could call our own for a week also has a beautiful eat in kitchen, a soaker tub and the best part is that it is dripping with character and atmosphere.  I swear if I lived in this apartment for more than a week I would be speaking French fluently.  Maybe Go with Oh and I could try a little experiment.  Think of the news we would make!  We'd become an internet sensation.

No? Uh, okay.  I'll settle for the week then.  Perhaps the next time we can test those fluency waters.

Well, first there were two and now there are four.  And we can't wait to expand our children's world view beyond where they live today.  Go with Oh's choice of apartments in Europe is exciting when imagining the options we would have traveling in Europe and the United Kingdom.  Whether it is in France or other European destinations, Go with Oh gives you the opportunity to feel like you are living there and not just visiting.

Now that is worth the price of admission...even for a professor and a social worker.

Our daughter when she was 2 wearing my t-shirt I wore as a kid. 

See? We've been prepping for years, Go with Oh.

UPDATE (11/21/2013):  I did not win the Go with Oh blogger contest.  I have to say I was very hopeful and very disappointed.  Their properties are gorgeous and provide so many options to those of us who are secretly (or not so secretly) Europhiles.  Maybe next time...sniff, sniff.

We Are So Grateful for...

Family.

We were able to travel to Ohio and Indiana to celebrate Thanksgiving with both families.  Knowing that we possibly weren't going to be there for Christmas made the time even more dear.

Thanksgiving day was spent in Ohio with the Kileys at Kevin and Laurie's Loveland home 2.0! They have been through a trying year (and more) of renovations.  They could have been on Renovation Realities quite honestly.  But they forged through and we got to reap the rewards of spending quality family time in their lovely home.

The weather was warm enough for Gramma Cece to take a spin on the scooter...


Uncle Scott showed off his new guns...


Aunt Shannon and the girls took the flatcoats for a walk...or did the dogs walk them?

The boys stood still long enough to get a picture...


And the girl cousins got their craft on with Aunt E-E...


Kevin, once again, out did himself in the gorgeous new kitchen!


While Erin outdid herself with the cranberry sauce.  Although I have to note she made a wicked apple kuchen that we all loved.


Dinner was served...


And thanks was given...


Laurie had dish duty in her beautiful kitchen...


And a football game was watched...


And then we went over the river and through the woods to Indiana for the Gallagher Thanksgiving.
Cousining ensued.  Raphael, we discovered, has become quite the pastry chef and brought us his meringues to sample.  I dare say they were better than Gaga Debbi's!

After dinner, cookies from Linne's bakery were brought out for dessert for the kids.


Do you think they were disappointed with the dessert?


I got to snuggle with my youngest nephew, Phillip...


While Aunt Cindy gave Anna a crochet lesson...


While our resident photog, also brother, father, uncle and son, was caught giving out photography advice...

 

An attempt was made to get all the cousins together to get a picture.  First we got this one...

Then this gaggle of Gallagher cousins decided to do this...

One last photo with Gaga and Papa and their new puppy, Maggie before we headed back (sniff, sniff)

How grateful we are to be surrounded by the people we love. 

It makes us want to jump for joy!

The Happiest Place on Earth: Day Two

It was a perfect day in the Magic Kingdom.
And they are right.
It is the happiest place on earth. It is intoxicatingly happy.
The high lasted several days.
But I am not a Disney Addict. It is a very pricey drug.

We arrived for the opening show. When the gates opened we followed Alice. You know, Alice, as in "Alice in Wonderland". I felt like Alice myself as we headed for the Teacups. The boys veered off to go to a race car ride which later they deemed as "lame". But the Teacups did not disappoint our need for childhood glee.


Does that face not scream "childhood glee"?


There's nothing like spinning your little heart out.

Then we were off to "Small World". The kitsch factor did not disappoint. And the kids loved it. We traveled around the world in about seven minutes.

"Welcome to the Happiest Cruise that ever sailed"

Everybody sing along...


Gavin rode his first roller coasters. The first was the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This whet his appetite and he was ready for Space Mountain. But his Dad was not as the Fast Pass for it was not at a time when he would be in the park. And I really really really don't like roller coasters. But I sucked it up and waited in line with Gavin to plunge to my death ride Space Mountain. Did I mention that I don't like roller coasters? The wait was shorter than it indicated which gave me less time to get totally crazy anxious. And in less than ten minutes we were getting off the ride. I survived and Gavin got to say he rode Space Mountain.

While in Tomorrow Land we rode Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. This was a really fun ride that brought out some healthy competition among the family because you laser shoot at targets through out the ride. At the end of the ride your score appears. Gavin beat the socks off us all.

One of the unique features that you may run into in Tomorrow Land is the talking trash can. Anna carried on quite the conversation with this little guy never realizing there was a man in the crowd operating it and talking into a a little mic that changed his voice.



In Adventureland we climbed aboard the Pirates of the Caribbean. We were amazed to see people of all ages, clear up to way old timers, enjoying the magic of Disney World. When we got off the ride look who we ran into.


He is easy on the eyes. I'd swab his deck any day.

We left the park around four to rest and get some dinner.


The professor and Anna decided they were not going to return for the Main Street Electrical Parade and fireworks. No amount of convincing could change their minds. They stayed poolside at the hotel and watched a movie outside. Gavin and I, however, were jonesing for a little more of that Magic Kingdom drug. I so wished they had come.

We returned to find Magic Kindgdom packed to the gills. They tape off where you can stand during the parade. We got back too late to grab a prime spot. So we really had to squeeze in somewhere, claim it and wait for the parade to start.

But just watching the castle change colors was magical. It was beautiful.


When the parade began my jaw dropped and I didn't pick it up until the last float paraded by. Between the parade, the show between the parade and the fireworks, and the fireworks I realized our admissions to the park were worth every penny.

Here's a taste of the Main Street Electrical Parade


After the parade there was a show in front of the castle that was technologically amazing. It's called "The Magic, the Memories, and You". As many as 500 images shot that day project onto the castle each night the show is presented, producers estimate. Disney PhotoPass photographers capture guests creating new memories as they “smile for the castle.” So it could be that night we were part of the castle show. I'm embarassed to say that it brings a tear to my eyes even to watch it now.


The fireworks had me at Tinker Bell...the REAL LIVE Tinker Bell flying down from the castle to get the fabulous fireworks show started. We had a fabulous time at Disney World. I know we'll go back again someday to get another infusion of that happiness drug that they do so well.

The Happiest Place on Earth: Day One

Two weeks before school was out the Professor throws out the idea of a surprise trip to Disney World. Knowing that this would most likely be the only time we would go, I was torn. Do I turn him down and hold out for a longer more planned trip or do I jump on the offer knowing that the Professor's Disney World Willingness Window could slam shut at any moment, never to open again? Well, I decided to embrace spontaneity. And thanks to to my friends who are DW fanatics experts, I was given great advice that made our trip wonderful. For not only was it spontaneous, it was also short. We only spent two full days in Disney Parks. What parks would we chose? Which days would we go to which parks? How would we get to every thing we wanted to see? Could I satisfy my Disney itch with this 2 day scratch? Could I keep this a surprise from the kids for a whole two weeks? Yes, I had two weeks to plan the ultimate two day Disney World vacation on a budget. The pressure was on.

After much gnashing of financial teeth, we decided to stay off Disney Property. Yes, it had been my dream to stay on property to so we would have an a full Disney experience. But the reality was the only option that was really affordable were the value resorts. Their rooms boast two double beds. That would have contributed to our DW nightmares. Settling the kids down and then keeping them up with Mama's snoring was not what we wanted to happen. But I found a great affordable off property hotel. The Holiday Inn Resort Lake Buena Vista. What sold me on it was that they offered kid suites for a remarkably reasonable price. The parents had their own king size bed and in a separate little nook the kids had a bunk bed.
I'd like to say no arguing occurred over where to sleep but I'd be lying. But we all had good nights sleep for a reasonable price. Plus, the hotel had a very nice pool and the kids ate free at the fine dining establishment, Applebee's. It was a ten minute drive to the parks so we took an afternoon swim break both days. I was worried we'd miss out on something but it really renewed our energy for the rest of the visits to the parks. The kids didn't even complain about leaving the parks.


So we started our adventure by taking the kids out of school one day before school ended for Summer break. I had made Disney World Journals with free pages from The Mouse for Less website and planned to give them to them when we told them. We secretly packed the car and got them up early and told them we were going on a trip. Lots of questions ensued. Expecting this, we had hints prepared until we crossed the Florida state line. Then at the welcome rest stop we stopped to rest and reveal the surprise. I had glorious visions of the kids being gleefully surprised and bluebirds landing on everyone's shoulders to carry us to Disney the rest of the way. Reality had other plans.



It was about an eight hour drive. And the excitement about going to Disney fueled us the rest of the way. When we checked into the hotel we were pleasantly surprised about the accommodations and the amenities. However, we decided to get a taste of Disney World for free and headed over to Downtown Disney. It was a great way to ramp up the excitement for all things Disney. Since it is mostly like an outdoor mall it was all I could do not to shop like crazy. But I knew we'd have lots of opportunities to buy lots of crap souvenirs over the next two days.

We loved the Lego store. Yes, that is all made from Legos. And I'm telling you, this one was one of the simple displays. Fantastic!



I had bought both the kids lanyards before we left hoping they would jump on the pin collecting boat. The Disney Pins are an inexpensive way to have souvenirs of your visit with feeling like you are breaking the bank. When the kids went into the pin shop they were on board!



Speaking of being on board, we hopped aboard one of the ferries that go to the resorts to check out what we were missing. We decided to hop off at the Port Orleans Resort. How is it that Disney can go over the top and yet it doesn't feel like it's over the top?



We headed back to the hotel, had a swim and set the alarm clock. We wanted to get to Epcot before it opened. Having used Ridemax to plan our time in both parks we were set to go. Ridemax was recommended to us by a very highly organized friend and it was worth every penny. Ridemax is a computer software program designed to help you create custom wait-time-reducing itinerary for Walt Disney World. But first we had to pick up the tickets which I had purchased on line. Even that had surprises. Disney buttons for everyone! Anna's birthday was in two weeks so she had a button with her name announcing it was her birthday. Every employees cast member (every one plays a role in the magic at DW) that came into contact with her wished her a "Happy Birthday, Princess Anna". She was in six year old girl heaven. Gavin got a "It's my first trip to Disney" pin to wear. Both kids were welcomed by so many cast members. We loved it. So once we had the tickets we were off to Test Track. Ridemax instructed us exactly when and where to wait to get onto this ride. While waiting we had our first sighting...Minnie!



Anna got a hug and she was hooked. She wanted more. "When can I see her again, Mama?"



The cast members started us off in a count down to opening the park. It was quite exciting! And sooner than you could say, "Gentleman, start your engines", we were in our car at Test Track. Which we all loved. Upon leaving the ride we grabbed "fast passes" just in case we had time to do it again. In fact, Ridemax worked so well we did everything we wanted to do and more!



Flickr is storing many photos of us trying to do all kinds of things to the Epcot Ball. Here's my personal favorite. Imagine me saying in my evil villain voice, "I vill crush you!"



The kids wanted to meet characters so we started the stroll of the countries where we could take in sights and the kids might have sightings of real cast members. You see we gave them each a generic baseball cap for the characters to sign when they met them. This got Gavin's competition juices stirring. He was bound and determined to fill that hat up with signatures even if it meant meeting princesses. Epcot has a venue where you can meet lots of characters at once...in air conditioning. We thought that was ideal...until we saw the wait.



Back to strolling the countries. But we also took a break to swim and when we came back after dinner the line for the character spot was manageable. Now we have a whole lot of memories, signatures and fun to remember.



We had a great time at Epcot. It was a good first day choice.


After finding a good spot to watch the fireworks we sat on a bench, had some wicked expensive ice cream and people watched. It was a beautiful evening.



After the fireworks we headed back to the hotel to crash. Anna was so darn tired she announced she didn't want to go to the Magic Kingdom the next day. The Professor reminded her that the Haunted Mansion was there and we had to see that. She perked up and said "Fine but I won't stay for the fireworks!" We didn't argue with her at that point. Little did we know she would stick to her guns.

The Great Adventure continued...

The Water Park

We decided to not go to the concert for several reasons:

1. We were clueless as to who Mitchell Musso was (shame on us)
2. Our little kids were clueless as well - If Hand Manny or the Imagination Movers were there we would have all been front and center
3. Water Park, Water Park, Water Park
4. Bedtime, Bedtime, Bedtime

Well, we get in there and panic sets in for me because I'm sure someone's going to drown. This place is ginormous and I can't be everywhere at once! But that's what their more than 100 lifeguards nationally certified by Ellis & Associates were there for and the life jackets that they supply free of charge for the little ones who can't swim. What I should have been worried about is what I would look like after being sprayed and soaked one too many times in the kiddy water park area. Couldn't one adult come up to me and say "Uh, excuse me lady but your mascara has run down your face and you either look like a drunk raccoon or a middle aged mom trying to fit in with her goth kid. Wipe that crap off your face." But no, everyone, including the professor and my kids, all let me walk around like that. It's enough that I had to walk around in a bathing suit but for god's sake a bathing suit and running mascara! I was lookin' pretty and I didn't know it until we got back to our room. Where are the beautiful stand in Moms when you need 'em?



The kids had a blast! It is definitely one adult per young kid kind of waterpark. But once they are strong swimmers you can kick back and relax with a good book and an adult beverage if you want. Our favorite as an entire family experience was the pool with the basketball hoops and obstacle course.


Is it worth the price of Admission?

In a word, yes. Just the suites and the 80,000 sq. ft. Bear Track Landing™ (one of America’s largest indoor waterparks) are enough for a weekend getaway full of fun. But if you have more money to spend there are alternative ways to entertain your kids and yourselves such as:

• Elements™ Spa – Featuring Aveda® products with eight treatment rooms
• Scooops® Kid Spa – Featuring ice cream-themed treatments for tweens
• Northern Lights™ Arcade – Over 100 video games and a ticket redemption center
• Cub Club™ – Daily crafts, activities and bedtime storytelling
• gr8_space™ – Tech Jockey will act as concierge for Internet stations, karaoke staging, movie and musical entertainment
• MagiQuest – The first live action, fantasy adventure game of its kind in resort history (really awesome I must add - we didn't do this but we did observe someone else doing it - very cool)
• Costumes, wand “toppers” and adornments available in retail to add to the Magic of MagiQuest
• Howl In One™– State-of-the-art themed and interactive 18-hole miniature golf course

I'm always looking for ways to make my dollar go farther. As far as stretching it at Great Wolf, your best bet would be to consider bringing in your breakfast and lunch. There are lots of options for dining at the lodge

• Camp Critter Bar & Grille™ – Themed family restaurant and bar
• The Loose Moose Cottage™ – Themed gourmet buffet and food court (we had the opportunity to eat breakfast here - very nice with a room that overlooks the waterpark and kid level buffet for self-serve)
• Pizza Hut Express®
• Dunkin’ Donuts® coffee and sandwich shop
• Bear Paw Sweets & Eats™ – Confectionery café and hot dogs etc.

There is also lots of shopping opportunities with a gift shop, a Magiquest shop, a swimsuit store, customized crocs kiosk and airbrush tattoo kiosk. Gavin's "wolfie" came from the gift shop. Wolfie was in the room when we arrived as part of the VIF event. After tears and negotiations Gavin ended up with the stuffed animal and Anna got the beach ball.

And finally, right before we were leaving for home, Anna decided to be brave enough to stand next to Great Wolf Lodge's mascot, Wiley the Wolf, and get her picture taken. Given that he is a giant wolf dressed in hiking clothes anyone could understand her complete fear of Wiley.



The kids are already begging to go back. And we have decided that we will go again on our own dime. That says a lot for those of you who know the professor. It would be a great place to go with all the cousins too. Hmmm, anyone up for it? Bring your waterproof mascara!