"The party, the party .... tell me about the party!". If it were up to me, I'd sum it up by saying "we lived through it", but since this is Alyssa's story I guess I'd better elaborate. Before I get started on that let me first tell you that Sidney made the track team again and will be a cross trainer (both long distance and sprinting). I'm very proud of her. She's happy because all of her friends from last year made it again and also some who didn't make it last year. I'll have lots of pictures for you throughout the track season.
OK, the party. It started out harmless enough - Lys and I
went to the hotel after school to check in and drop off some bags. The lady smiled nicely at us, probably thinking we were having a special mother/daughter night away. Ha! If she only knew...she'd live to regret that smile. We only stayed a few minutes, then went back to get Sidney, Taylor N and Hayley. We were supposed to get Brianna, but she ended up getting dropped off at the hotel later on.
Anyway, we all piled into the room and the girls started decorating while they waited for the other two guests. They did such a good job! We had streamers everywhere and balloons all over the floor. The other "dropping off" parents looked at the room in horror and asked me if insanity ran in my family. I just laughed and told them "YES!". As soon as the door shut, Alyssa pulled out her ipod and speakers and really got the party started. You know, for $20 speakers they really put out some sound! They danced and sang while waiting for the pizza.
Here they are, L-R: Lauren, Taylor N, Taylor D, Lys and Hayley. You already know the big one on top of the couch. They were having so much fun - music blaring, girls screaming and laughing, jumping on the couch - I smiled to myself knowing that I had made this possible ... then I reached for two more Advil. It was going to be a long night. Lys opened her presents while they waited for the pizza - a good way to kill time.
The pizza arrived not long after, and it was consumed, I believe, before the delivery guy got back to the lobby. It was a feeding frenzy that would rival any of those shows on the National Geographic channel. They knew they couldn't swim until the pizza came so they didn't waste any time. What's that rule about waiting 30 minutes after eating before you swim? Yeah, right! Good luck with that one. They were in their suits and out the door before I knew it. You'll have to excuse the lighting of the pool pictures. I wasn't allowed to use my flash because "it was embarrassing".
I used it a couple of times when she wasn't looking, though. She'll get over it. They went from the pool to the hot tub and back again for HOURS! Good thing I had charged MY ipod battery. I just sat in a chair, listened to music and snapped pictures. What an easy night! Brianna didn't bring her bathing suit so she and Sid didn't hang out at the pool much.
At about 8:30 we went upstairs to have cake. They all sang to Lys, then ate the sugar-packed cake, all the while washing it down with Coke and Root Beer. Yes, sugar and caffeine are a potent combination. "Hey, after we eat cake let's go swimming again!" (and work off this energy). No problem. Back to the pool (after a short detour through the gift shop - that didn't take long) until it closed at 11:00, then back to the room. I thought. No, they had other ideas. They wanted to run around the halls and ride the elevators. Hey, whatever you want. I'm going to be "the fun mom" tonight.
At midnight they were back in the room, only because that little voice in my head advised me to rein them in a little before they got to the point of no return. I'm glad I listened. Now I had them contained, but how do I get them to settle down? The music was blaring again, they were dancing and jumping around yelling so they'd hear each other over the music. I reached for 2 more Advil and looked around.
The suite had one couch that pulled out into a bed, lots of floor space around it and a seperate bedroom (with a door that closed) with 2 double beds. I smiled. "Hey you guys, why don't you pull out that couch bed so you can all sit together on it if you decide you want to watch TV?". They squealed and pulled it right out. They fell for it so I quickly made my move. I claimed one of the beds and told Sid and Brianna they could have the other. They were happy they that didn't have to sleep on the pull out bed - and so was I!
Sid and Brianna became the party leaders at this point and shut myself in the bedroom. I was going to be the "fun" mom, but I didn't want to be in the way. Sid suggested that each person write down something fun to do and they put all the ideas in a hat. They drew them one at a time and had so much fun doing each one. Some of the ideas were a talent show, one was charades (I came up with the topics), Truth or Dare, "make up a dance" and I can't remember the others.
All I remember is that after listening to Alyssa's song list on her ipod in another room through a closed door for all of those hours made me realize just how many of those songs I didn't like or approve of. God help the people in the rooms on either side of us. I wonder how long it's going to be before we get thrown out? I got my answer not long afterwards. I was talking to Brent (he was in San Diego) on my cell phone at about 2am OUR time when the phone in the room rang. There's my answer. I winced, hesitated, then reluctantly picked up the phone. "....hello?" A nice man's voice on the other end. "Um, are you having a slumber party up there?" Gosh, what was your clue, the pajama clad group of girls riding the elevator all night or the concert-volume music seeping through the walls and door? "...um, yes we are, and I just now told them to turn off the music and go to sleep." The pause that followed seemed to last an eternity. All I could think of is "How will I get 8 of us into the car right now since we're getting thrown out? I'll have to make 2 trips." He seemed to buy my answer. "We've had some complaints about the noise, but if you say it's over then I'll call them and let them know." Thank you Lord! I hung up with Brent and raised the lights in the other room (like they do when they give last call at the bar...so I've heard...I've never been to a bar so I can't verify that....yeah, right!). The girls moaned and groaned, but had no choice. We spread out the sleeping bags and made beds for those who wouldn't fit on the pull-out bed. I got back into my bed, put my ear plugs in and took half of an Ambien. I don't remember falling asleep, but I do remember waking up. I had to go to the bathroom at 5am, but was afraid to go for fear of waking the girls up. "Let sleeping dogs lie", right? I debated and finally made it there and back with no signs of life. Success!
I watched TV until 9 and finally woke the lot, only because there was a free breakfast downstairs and parents were coming at 10:30 and we still had to clean up the room. Here are the happy faces when I turned on the lights. Aren't they cute? It took a while for them to get moving, but when Hayley reminded them about the breakfast buffet downstairs they kicked it into gear. I escorted them downstairs and was careful not to make eye contact with anyone.
I didn't know who had called to complain about us and I didn't want to meet them over breakfast. It worked. After breakfast we went back upstairs, cleaned up the room (EVERY little speck on the floor) and handed off the kids to their parents. I told the parents that I was going to make them sign a waiver acknowledging that I was not responsible for the anticipated mood swings later in the day or the lack of energy from their children. They nervously laughed as they dragged their sleep-deprived children down the halls. We went home, I tried unsuccessfully to nap, then I went to work until 11pm. That wasn't so bad. It was the "having to be at work at 5:30 the next morning" part that killed me. When I finished my shift on Sunday I couldn't even tell you WHAT day it was. Good thing I live close to the airport. Oh, and it wasn't over with that. I got home and Alyssa convinces me to take her to Target to spend all of her gift cards, first stopping to pick up Hayley, of course. I'm not sure if I was legal to drive, but I didn't get pulled over so who cares? Lys had a great time shopping and after realizing that she could COMBINE her gift cards to buy one BIG thing, she picked out a digital camera, rechargeable batteries and a memory card for it. I remember dropping Hayley off, making dinner and then the rest of Sunday is a blurr....
All in all it was a lot of fun. Alyssa and her friends thanked me a thousand times and I'm sure I'll remember the smiles on their faces forever. Have a great week!
team this year. Last year she played softball, but since the coach transferred to a different school over the summer the interest faded and she moved over to track. For those who have been keeping up with Sid's friends, this is "pony" Jesse (because she has a horse), not to be confused with "neighbor" Jessie who used to live next door. 
Anyway, the meet lasted 2 very long, cold hours with Sid and Jesse both running the 800m towards the end of it. Sid wasn't happy finishing 4th, but it was VERY cold (she was covered with goose bumps) and her leg muscles were tight. Their school ended up winning the meet.
have to write a short book, any kind they want. One kid is writing about a kid playing baseball, one girl is writing about a girl wanting to grow up to be an actress, one kid is writing about a girl and her family going on vacation to the beach. What does my adorable little child chose? Horror. I just laughed, and I guess I can't fault her. I used to read all of Stephen King's books and Dean Koontz, but I don't remember reading them in 5th grade. Anyway, they are supposed to be "publishing" them at school and she asked me if I could take her picture. She told me that they are having a page dedicated to the author and they needed to bring in a picture of themselves looking very author-like. I scrunched my eyebrows and asked her what she wanted it to look like and she told me. This is what we ended up with. Doesn't she look old? I know I keep saying that, but gosh...when did my baby grow up?!?!?!
