The Best Purchase This Century

This morning I took the girls to get x rays to assess their bone age. It's all part of the Big Stressy Stuff that makes me want to do all the daytime sleeping and nighttime binge eating. ANYWHO. 

I was not in a great mindset when we finished at the x ray place and wandered into the Sam's Club to get a couple necessities. (Like more licorice) 

After gathering our requisite $100 worth of hodge podgery we may or may not need, (in bulk even) I was kind of glassy eyed, and glancing toward the Diet Coke fountain. The kids caught sight of a bouncy house and started to point & shout. We were in the check out line at this point, yet something clicked in my mind. Something about how blasted hot it is, how swimming is really the only acceptable form of physical activity and GEEZ am I tired of THAT nonsense. So we left the safety of the check out and just went over "to look." It looked pretty small-ish, as I imagined its size in comparison to our playroom. (It's a brilliant idea to get cavalier about measurements & dimensions when making major purchases) Yesssss. And really, how much is my sanity worth? ALL THE DOLLARS, I SAY. I texted The Husband to see what he thought, since he took longer than five seconds to respond I took it as compliance & dragged that sucker into the cart.

It is surprisingly easy to buy a bouncy house. Nobody seemed to bat an eye. Which I guess, OBVIOUSLY. Also? Surprisingly exhilarating. Because (a) The Husband could be giving me a real side eye with this large-ish purchase, (b) I could be having a total mental breakdown without realizing it WOOOOO, and (c) the kids suddenly loved me a trillion percent more. For reals, there were so many hugs and proclamations of "I just love it... I mean YOU!" (They can be bought, people!)

Basically this is how one can easily lose an entire playroom plus most of the dining room.

That baby is quite large. Which, duh. In a huge warehouse, of course scale can be deceiving. I was confident that we had a ton of extra floor space, (which I still maintain we do!) It's just all taken up by bounce house now, and the dining table is backed up against the wall. BUT NO MATTER! It made the perfect babysitter, and I intend on working her hard, maybe even daily.

I will say I was a twee bit disappointed to open it up and see in the instructions specific wording about how not to put it on hard surfaces such as concrete and tarmac. (Laminate flooring is softer, right?!) I'll most likely be seeking out a cushy foam mat just to be safe, and prevent the, ahem, movement around the room. (Cannot be staked down inside!) We use all the space, and after the pictures were taken, we had to reposition so that the blower spout ran straight, thus flipping the thing around and having the blower live in the hallway by the front door. Is this solution for anyone? No. If you have a pretty open floorplan and significantly raised ceilings without hanging fixtures? THEN YES, YOU NEED THIS. Or if you live in a climate that IS NOT the surface of the sun, it'd be fun outside, I'm sure. This wasn't even meant to be a product review since we've had it assembled all of four hours. (I took the opportunity to give the playroom/dining room a vicious cleaning upon returning home)

I'm just so DARNED EXCITED. YAY ENDORPHINS! BUY ALL THE THINGS!

Then I tried to put it back in the itty bitty "bag" that it came with and HAH, to you, sirs at SportsPowerLtd. HAH. 

Still, I'm thrilled. I may have texted my mom a slightly vague "just bought a bouncy house for the kids!" And she CALLED ME, within a minute, probably worried about a case of the body snatchers. I also believe she may have said something like "I can't wait to tell your FATHER about this." Which made me both laugh until I nearly wet myself and then question the sanity of my recent purchase. 

Nothing like setting up a giant inflatable in your front room to get your blood pumping in the afternoon! Hopefully the children will be slow to catch on that when Mommy is stressed out, they can pretty much ask for, and receive nearly anything.