Between naps and meals...........

Yesterday was spent discussing tropical destinations, and lounging by the pool, followed by a nap.

Yep, it was pretty sweet.

Last night, we went to The Melting Pot. That was not quite as fantastic.

The one thing I can say with total confidence is that clearly, I am not smart enough to patronize this fine establishment. There are a few specific reasons why I have come to this conclusion. First: The menu is incredibly complicated. For every course, you have to make several choices. When we were seated, the hostess repeated, over and over again, that because we had 2 burners on our table, we had to choose 2 sauces for each course. Which only added to the confusion. Second, it is very unclear whether the food is served family style, or individually, and what portion size you should be expecting. Third, the staff is totally unhelpful - and completely happy to charge you extra without your knowledge if you order something that wasn't included inadvertently.

In short, it was a fiasco. We didn't order any alcohol, which got the staff all in a tizzy. They even sent the manager over at one point to try to get us to order cocktails. After he had called out each one of us ("Would you like another rum and coke?" "It's just a coke." "Oh. Would you like another coke, then?" all said in this completely patronizing tone) I was pretty pissed off. Then he got to the kids:
"Is that just water?"
"Actually, he's drinking Stoli" I snapped.
Sami decided to chime in "But it's his third, so I think he's had enough."

And we both smiled sweetly at this complete douchebag and said very sweetly "Water would be great. Thank you."

We left the restaurant totally hating the staff. The concept is fun, the food was OK (super salty), the prices were fair - but it is expensive, and having hot pots in the center of the table turned out to be more then the kids could take - and we spent a lot of time cautioning about hot pots and grabbing little fingers.

After dinner, we wandered around the new shopping center checking out the stores - one of which is a shiny brand new gourmet grocery store. Oh, the organics and charcuterie and baked goods and cheese case. Ultra-fab, we walked up and down the aisles like a bunch of hay-chewing podunks, exclaiming over everything. Then we took off for the resort, bedtime, and peace and quiet.

As we walked back to the room, Max kept grabbing his crotch. I know this is not unusual for lots of little boys, but Max (thank god, because I think it woul dmake me nutso) is not a package-groper. He is far more likely to grab someone else's boobs, then his own crotch. I had a sudden, horrible thought: UKU.

When we got into the room, I sent him directly to the bathroom - and he emerged a few minutes later, sheepishly holding 2 twist-ties. Apparently, he swiped them in the grocery store, and stuffed them in his pants (?) for safekeeping. And then forgot about them. (sigh)

I decided I had had just about enough fun, and everyone went to bed.