A Howling Happy Birthday to Number 1

It’s hard to believe that eight short years ago today I was not quite yet a mom. And then along came my first baby on November 12, 2000 and everything changed. All of a sudden I was responsible for planning birthday parties! Now three kids and 17 birthday parties later (and counting) I am always on the hunt for something savvy (i.e. easy to plan). So I was delighted this year when my turning-eight-this-week daughter requested a girls’ trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls with her best friend (with me along as a chaperone and chauffeur of course) in lieu of a traditional party. We booked a room and we were all set to celebrate—no need to do much more when two days of amazing waterpark fun comes with one night in the lodge! But the really nice thing was how great the staff were when they heard about the birthday—we were feted with the Great Wolf birthday howl at the birthday dinner and the girls got extra special attention in Scoops spa. Unfortunately for mom, the adult spa was all booked up!