We took a mini-vacation this past weekend because Matt has about two weeks off of school in between semesters. I found a great hotel deal online, which simply required us to participate in a 90-minute time-share sales pitch,* and came with free food vouchers and everything. So we packed up the kids, a few bags of clothes, and a variety of road trip entertainment items (read: DVD player, Leapster, junk food, and a pile of library books). Before we left to come home this morning, I made the mistake of looking at some Webkins at a store. This, to Grant and Clark, was a bona-fide contractual offer that a Webkinz purchase was in our near future. Grant could not understand why the purchase was not made, and spent most of the trip home speculating about when we would go to a local store and pick up the Webkinz that I had cruelly and carelessly forgotten to purchase this morning. I told him we’d take a look at the bank account when we got home and see about the possibility.
He immediately corralled me to the office upon arriving home. I had transferred a vacation budget into my checking account right before we left town. I didn’t do a great job of keeping track of spending, so I cringed a little when I looked it up.
“Uh oh, Grant, we have a problem.”
“What?”
“Well, it says here that my bank account has -$18.73.”
“Is that enough for a Webkinz?”
“Um, no. It means I have $18.00 below zero.“(Long pause.)“Don’t worry, mom. I know where we have thousands and thousands of dollars.”
Wow. If only I had known, we could have vacationed in New Zealand. Just leave it to a six-year-old to solve all your problems. Verdict: Chores for Webkinz. Hopefully, he won’t get done until the next payday.
*Those people who do time-share pitches are tricky, tricky, tricky. If Matt had his way, we would now be the proud owners of 40-years-worth of tropical vacations and an Alaskan helicopter skiing package. Since I am only slightly more disciplined, and withstood their amazing deals and plummeting prices, for four– yes, FOUR– hours, we are instead only the proud owners of a pre-purchased vacation to Disney World that we had already planned on making when Matt graduates in the spring. Call me a sucker if you will.
Diapers and Divinity 
I don’t know if the hotel would be worth a presentation. I always feel SOOOOO guilty! And they do know how to pressure you.
Ah, I’ve done the man deodorant thing. But, the opposite–him smelling girly–was much more unpleasant. He only did it one morning and then we both insisted on a trip to the local WalMart. Ick. I guess I should be grateful I’ve got three girls who wear flowery deodorant. And husband should be a much more careful packer.
Oh you make me giggle! Glad I’m not the only one who always leaves something behind!
Yes, those time share presentations make me sweat! Glad you had fun and you only went 18 dollars over! 🙂
Wow. Top-ten cool list. What an honor! Seriously.
I like how the colors of the pictures work together in that grouping. I put all the pictures from the day in an album on facebook so you can get any you want.
I left my favorite swimsuit in the Dells on one trip. We figure if we’ve got all five kids when we leave we’re doing great.
🙂
Similar experiences have led to the no-library-books-leave-this-house rule around here!
I’ve never done one of those time share thingies. But I’m a sucker, so I’m glad I never had, and hope I never will!
I HATE those time share things. H.A.T.E. them. Glad you got your mini vacay though. Even with the lost items and the tension headache. Time together with friends and family is wonderful.
I think I’ve been avoiding reading your site because I felt like I needed to go back and respond to your responses to my comments . . . also because I could tell these were meaty posts and I was in a milky mood. (Which may or may not have anything to do with the fact that I just spent a half an hour trying to pump some breastmilk so I can be away from my baby some time for a while . . . no luck this time; I’ll have to see if I do better pumping in the morning.) Now I’ve read or skimmed all your Women’s Conference posts (sounds like it was a great conference) and have decided to summarize my replies down to that I think overall we agree completely: While it’s not helpful to stress or feel guilty over the things we haven’t yet mastered, it’s definitely worthwhile to try to master new motherhood skills and, little by little, improve ourselves in every way possible (physical, spiritual, emotional, etc.)
Now I’m considering myself caught up. 🙂
P.S. I’m not so sure your traffic’s down b/c of your Women’s Conference posts — I think it’s Spring and the end of the school year and people are planting their gardens and helping their kids finish projects, etc. At least to me it looks like traffics down all over the Mormonmommyblogosphere, not just in reading and commenting, but in posting. I know I’m sure trying to get some spring cleaning in, etc. (What’s the allowable limit of etceteras in one comment? I think I just hit it with three.)
I’d have a hard time withstanding the pressure of those salespeople … I’m glad you had fun!