The Palace: Cotton Bowl Edition Part 2

We survived American Girl.

However, our day began with more boiling water and surviving that was, for a while, in question. I attempted to wash my hair in the sink thinking that perhaps sink boiling water is not as hot as shower boiling water. It is just as hot. I had to leave the majority of the shampoo in my hair because it burned my hands and scalp to try and rinse. Needless to say, today is not my best hair day. I’m a bit greasy and flat.

Our toilet had boiling water, too. When I raised the lid this morning steam was coming out. Literally. At the risk of giving too much information, I was barely able to sit on the pot. Having steam rise into your nether regions is not pleasant.

The repairman fixed the hot water issue about 2 pm, but his “fix” was to turn off the cold water valve. So, how was that different? About 4 pm, both hot and cold water were functioning. And the nice manager who now knows The King on a first name basis has taken last night’s charge off of our bill.

Back to American Girl. (Whose products ironically say "made in China".

The Princess first dropped her doll, Nicki off at the hair salon and requested the Ponytail Veil style. We left Nicki in the able hands of the doll stylists and began looking around.

The King had pretty much no clue what the American Girl thing was about. He’d somehow missed the entire premise.

Once he became educated in all things AG, he was kind of into it. He really became fond of the Historical Dolls. Especially Addy. He was really pushing Addy. He will eventually learn that when you push something on your offspring, they go in the opposite direction. Which she did.

She went straight to Julie, the doll of 1974. I was all about Julie, because I feel like she and I share a bond. The bond of growing up in the 70s. Me and Julie. Since the Queen Mother is along for the trip, The Princess increased her initial budget somewhat and was able to purchase my homegirl, Julie.

After she purchased Julie, The Princess felt that it would be unfair to Julie if she was not able to have freshly coiffed hair for the New Year. Who can argue with that? We dropped Julie off at the salon and came back to hotel for a brief respite. And a brownie.

We were told to be back at 3:15 to watch Julie cost us even more...I mean, get her hair done. We arrived at 3:10 to find her hair styling had been completed. Instant tears. For the love of his Princess, The King sought after the manager and encouraged her to remember who her customers are and stressed the importance of sticking to the promised schedule when dealing with small girls and their once-in-a-lifetime visit to American Girl. While he was encouraging, a sweet doll stylist came over to me and offered to do Julie’s hair again so that The Princess could watch. Plus, she felt as if Julie’s hair could stand to have a little more work done. I told her it was not necessary, but she said that yes, yes it was. So she is my new best friend.

I was very impressed that AG, or maybe just this sweet stylist, saw the importance of that event to my daughter. So, I’m still a fan and would encourage anyone with a little girl to visit.

While there, we had reservations for lunch at the Bistro. I was thinking that it would be gross, but it was really kinda tasty. Or maybe all that doll drama made me hungry. The menu consisted of choosing an appetizer, entree and side from a list of options. Obviously, AG gets that little girls dig making their own decisions. And come on...isn't this food cute?

The napkins were held with star cookie cutter napkin rings that each had a word written on them. The cookie cutters were ours to take home. (I love gifts.)

The waitress told us to each say a sentence with our word and go around the table and turn the sentences into a story while we waited on our food. Our words were: Friends, Loyal, True and Honest. This is how our story went down:

Queen Mother: Heidi is very loyal. (Heidi is our neurotic dog whom I have yet to blog about. It is gonna be big and I have to gear up for that one.)

King: Heidi has lots of friends.

Queen B: You are not telling a story that is true.

Princess: Some people at this table are not honest.

I’m not really sure that is what the AG marketing department had in mind.

We were going to finish our meal with the Fondue Platter which the menu said was great for sharing.

Obviously, they’ve never seen us eat.

The day spent at American Girl was great. So many times it seems I leave disappointed in events that are "designed" for children. They seem to be such a money-making racket and do nothing to enrich or enhance our kids. American Girl was the opposite. I left really pleased that a company has made such quality products with the intention of teaching and empowering young girls. (Though it does seem to make a lot of money!)

The King is so good to have carried the HUMONGOUS bag. (Note the armored car in the background. I don’t think they realize what dangerous territory they are in considering what the merchandise inside costs.)

We may just have to get The King an Addy doll. His man-camp buddies would love that.

Now we are in our hotel room with appropriately heated water. We are spending our rockin' New Year's Eve watching Shrek 2 and probably going to bed by 10:30. We must get lots of rest to prepare for beating Missouri tomorrow.

I hope that each of you has a safe and happy holiday and that you are surrounded by those you love.

I certainly am.