(Another) Giveaway: Win an Overnight Stay at Kalahari Resorts!!

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Bobby & Joshua with the Kalahari mascots, Kya and Kenya

As Emily mentioned last week, we got to take our families to the fabulous Kalahari Resorts in Sandusky, Ohio last weekend.  Emily showcased some of the resort’s features and then gave away a night’s stay, and now it’s my turn to do the same! (Em’s already picked a winner for her giveaway, so check your email!)

I truly loved everything about Kalahari, but what stood out all around was the exceptional customer service we received there. The attendant who helped us when we first pulled up in our vehicle and helped us get our bags in the hotel, waited for us while we checked in, and then made sure we (and our luggage) got safely to our room – was amazing. His name was Jacob, and he didn’t know I was a blogger who was going to write about the stay. He just treated us like any regular guest – and he was perhaps the nicest and most helpful hotel employee I have ever encountered anywhere. A++ on the customer service! So, that was a great way to start out our stay, and everyone else at the resort who helped us over the weekend was also absolutely fabulous. I couldn’t say more about the great service!
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My next favorite part of our stay was the FOOD! And this goes hand-in-hand with customer service as well. Kalahari put out an amazing breakfast spread for all the bloggers and their families. Everything looked scrumptious! Trouble is, I couldn’t eat most of it because I recently found out I am allergic to wheat. I had let them know about my allergy before my arrival, so I knew I’d have something to eat, but I was totally blown away when they brought me out a giant plate of delicious, amazing food just for me – all gluten-free! (Pictured above is my actual plate!) It was SOOOO GOOOD! I ate as much as I possibly could and I was so grateful that they accommodated me – and then some!

Ok, so next up – the water park! Emily already told you how amazing the water park is. It is awesome! And ginormous. And AWESOME!! My kids had a blast, and so did my hubby and I. Check him out catching some waves on the Flow Rider – he did great!

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Another great feature Kalahari has is a giant arcade. They have every game you could ever want to play, including my fave – SKEE BALL! They also have some extra -fun stuff like neon black light mini-golf and mini-bowling.

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Mini-golf in the dark was not any of our strong suits…but it was fun!

We had a BLAST on the bowling!
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Even though Joshua beat us all really badly!
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We were all sad to leave Kalahari when the weekend was over. And we all can’t WAIT to go back! My children are just dee-eye-ing to go back! And I want to go in the warm weather when we can check out all the resort has to offer outdoors  – including a zoo and tons out outdoor water play!

I’m excited to be able to give away the opportunity for one of YOU to have a night at this fabulous resort! 

Here’s the small print:
The voucher will include:
– A one-night stay in a Hut or Desert Style room
– Complimentary Safari Outdoor Adventure Park Passes
– NOT VALID: Friday and Saturdays. Blackout dates include November 21-22, 2012, December 21-January 5, 2013, January 20, 2013, February 17, 2013, March 17-31, 2013, April 1-4, 2013, May 26, 2013, June 23 – August 18, 2013, September 1, 2013, and October 13, 2013. Please call (877) 525-2427 for availability. No cash value, expires 2 years from date of issue.

Here’s how to enter:
1) Leave a comment on this post.
2) Like Kalahari Resorts on Facebook and leave a separate comment here saying you did so.
3) Like Mommin’ It Up on Facebook and leave a separate comment here saying you did so.

One winner will be chosen at random on Wednesday, December 19th at 6pm EST.

Even if you don’t win – we’ve got a special deal just for our readers. You can stay at Kalahari Resorts at a REALLY great rate!! Click here to learn more!

I couldn’t have been more impressed by our stay at Kalahari. It’s a great place to take a family getaway!

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Kalahari provided our family with a two-night stay and meals as part of their “Kalahari Kamp Out”  blogger event. All opinions about the resort are my own.

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Bickering

Ah, my lovely children. Pretty cute, don’t ya think?

They are driving me bonkers lately!

First let me say that there is little I love more than seeing them play together or hearing them laugh together.

I just wish those moments came more often, and lasted more than three minutes.

Because they are driving me bonkers with the bickering!

Sam is not blameless in all of this, but at the moment at least, the biggest issue is Kate picking on him. He can’t do anything right! Last night I actually heard her tell him how to swallow his spit in a way she doesn’t find offensive. I have lost count of how many times I have said “Stop terrorizing your brother!” I truly do not know what is so appealing to her about upsetting him.

She might be a sociopath.

Ok that is taking it a little far, but I am seriously at a loss. Is this normal sibling behavior? How can I make it stop? Are they going to get along?

I just want them to love each other, dammit!

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Christmas in Moderation {what I bought}

Joshua & Sophie in front of our tree, all dressed up for their school Christmas program.

A few weeks ago I told you how we were going to try to cut down on crazy Christmas over-shopping, spoiling,  and over-indulgence by giving our kids just four gifts: something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read.

Well, now I am DONE with my shopping (HOLLA!!) so I’m here to tell you how that went and what the kids are getting! You can judge for yourself whether or not I was faithful to the rule (I myself am perfectly satisfied with how I did).

At some point in my shopping I realized I still wanted the kids to be able to give gifts to each other. I usually purchase a couple of $5 or less gifts and let the kids choose which they want to give to their sibling. I decided to keep this tradition, because they like giving to each other and I want to keep them giving as much as possible. They both saved money to purchase items for their Operation Christmas Child boxes and they blew their wads on those, so mom & dad are fronting them the $ for sibling presents. I did stay within my budget on these sibling gifts, though.

Okay, SO – after I got that out of the way, I did my shopping. I was done shopping for the kids by the end of November.

That is…until last week, when a miracle occurred and American Girl decided to put out a special offer through Good Morning America. They put out a coupon code for 61% off a doll, book, and accessory set!

Let me explain. Sophie has three of the miniature American Girl Dolls. You know, the ones that cost $15 on Amazon. She got one for her birthday last year, one for Christmas last year, and one for her  birthday this year (it was her something she “wanted”). I have wanted to give her a full-size one, but I will never be able to justify the cost. We just don’t spend that much on birthdays or Christmases. And Sophie likes her mini ones, but she doesn’t play with them enough to make me *positive* that we’d get our $$ worth out of a big one. (She does LOVE the books a lot, though! She got the Addy book for her birthday as well and is getting a Kit book for Christmas.)

But when American Girl released a coupon code that would get you a full-size doll, book, and accessory set for $57.95 shipped??? I BOUGHT THAT. I was pretty sure it would be her only chance to own one so I went for it. I hope she is thrilled by it but I’m still not sure how she will react! It’s her “something she wants”…but I don’t know if she wants it. Uhhh….

I just couldn’t pass that up. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Anyway. Her original “something she wanted” was a LeapPad game, which my brother & sister-in-law purchased from me and are now giving her. So she does not have an extra gift from us. All that to say- here is what Sophie is getting for Christmas!

Want: American Girl Marie-Grace doll with book and accessory set

Need: new leotard for gymnastics

Wear: Hello Kitty PJs

Read: American Girl Kit book #3

From siblings: a doctor kit and a game

Now for Joshua, we threw in an *extra* “want” gift because when we bought Sophie the AG doll, it made it so we had spent more money on her, and I am all about the monetary amount being as fair as possible. So judge me if you will, but I think that’s the best way to be fair to my kids this year. Joshua’s gifts are:

Want: Lego Star Wars Wii game, Lego Star Wars set

Need: new goggles for swim lessons & Lego Star Wars PJs (he needs both of these things and they cannot wait for his birthday in February! Judge me again.)

Wear: Angry Birds Star Wars shirt

Read: Pokemon books (again, more than one book because they were less expensive than the other kids’ books).

From his siblings: two clearance $5 Halloween costumes that he will love!

Finally, here are Jonah’s gifts. Poor guy, his birthday is just 8 days before Christmas! So birthday and Christmas shopping were kind of rolled into one, plus, he’s 2, he doesn’t really “WANT” anything, but these are the things I’ve designated for Christmas:

Want: Fisher-Price Little People Wheelies Set

Need: Toy instruments (he NEEDS toys, poor kid!)

Wear: Socks

Read: Toddler Tools book

From his siblings: another book and a toy phone

So, that’s it! That’s what the kids are getting for Christmas. Of course there will also be candy and trinkets in their stockings as well. I am pretty pleased with how my shopping went this year! Even if I did have to fudge the big kids’ gifts a little to make it “fair” money-wise.

How about you? Are you done shopping, or have you barely even started?

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