Doing the Unthinkable… 4 Disney Parks. 1 day June 7, 2011

This past weekend we scored some 1 day park hopper tickets for a pretty good deal. We decided to attempt the unthinkable and try to visit all 4 Disney parks in 1 day.

Planning:

The night before I did some research on if it was possible and any suggestions on making it happen. I only found about 3 sites/blogs that really gave me any ideas. I then found a few sites through disney that gave me a list of all the attractions, one site even had up to date info on the wait times for each attraction at each park , when and where to see characters and which places still had fast passes available. Technology on phones is insane! If we ever try to do this again, I found in reading the few other blogs that if you visit the disney site you can customize your own maps to specify the exact places you want to stop like attractions and food spots. I also wanted to find out what people said about using the Disney Transportation system, everyone said it was the way to go… park once ride the buses and monorails.

Putting the Plan into Action:

We went to Publix the night before and grabbed dinner to eat in our hotel room, snacks, drinks, and breakfast for the day of. We had left over chicken tenders so we decided to save those to bring with us. We bought a big bag of popcorn as well, something lightweight to carry around, easily accessible and not at all messy. We got ready and finished our breakfast in record time so we decided to run to walmart to pick up an umbrella stroller because we didn’t bring our double stroller for the first time. The kids starting fighting over it right away but we worked out a system that worked great all day, they switched after every attraction, rest stop or bus stop.

Animal Kingdom 9:00am-11:15am

We arrived at the Magic Kingdom around 8:15am. All the parks opened at 9:00am but in my research I found out that Animal Kingdom sometimes opens a little early so guests are there for the awakening hour or something. Anyway, we decided to park at Magic Kingdom and catch a bus to Animal Kingdom since we would be ending the day at Magic Kingdom. I have never parked so close to the entrance before, it was crazy being able to walk to the Ticket and Transportation center of Magic Kingdom and not have to take one of those trams. We caught the bus over to Animal Kingdom and sure enough they opened up a few minutes before 9:00am. We were already boarding our first ride by 9:00am.

We have only been to Animal Kingdom once before over 4 years ago, so we really didn’t know what we wanted to do other than the Kilimanjaro Safari and the It’s Tough to be a Bug show. We obviously would have loved to see the Lion King and Finding Nemo shows but we knew if we wanted to stay on schedule those just wouldn’t be options. Plus my mom has been dying to take the kids and I wanted to save some stuff for them to do together. We were going to go to the Dinosaur ride to do a fast pass so we could come back after we hit up the Bug’s life show and the safari but there was NO wait so we just went ahead and got on. In retrospect, we should have skipped this ride. WAY to SCARY for little ones, plus most of the ride is very nearly pitch black. I thought it would be similar to the Spider Man ride at IOA but it was too dark and too scary. We moved on with a mission to get to the bug’s life before it go to crowded but the kids carnival area of the park was empty so we had to take advantage and jumped on the dinosaur version of Dumbo. Great choice, the kids loved it! Made it over to the Tree of Life for no line at It’s tough to be a bug either. We just had to wait for the show ahead of us to be over. The kids loved walking passed the tree and looking for all the animals engraved in the bark. We actually had to tell them not to stop and look for too long. Enjoyed the show then moved on over to the safari. At this point it was 10:00, there was a 30 minute wait or we could do fast pass and come back at 10:30 and move right to the front. We did fastpass, sat down for a snack from our bag then went on the short (boring) train ride over to the petting zoo area, we didn’t even get off the train because by the time we got on the train that got back around it was 10:30. Jumped right on the safari which is about a 20 minute ride I think then left to the next park. Animal kingdom was virtually empty so I think we could have come here at a different part of the day I have just been told that the animals are more likely to be out and about earlier in the day before it get too hot.

Hollywood Studios Epcot 12:00-3:00pm:

Our plan was to go to Hollywood Studios after Animal Kingdom so that we would still get there early enough in the day to do a fast pass for the new Star Wars ride and the Toy Story ride that we have yet to get on in the 3 times that we have been. We also wanted to hit up Epcot right before Magic Kingdom so we could take the monorail instead of a bus. Unfortunately we waited and waited and waited for a bus that just took too long to come so instead we jumped on one of the 2 buses headed for Epcot. I could not even tell you the last time I went to Epcot, maybe elementary school, I really don’t know I’d have to ask my parents… So I had no idea where anything was. We grabbed a map and went inside an air conditioned store to take a look as I had written down what we thought we would all enjoy. I read Mission: Space was the thing to do so we went over there to either get a fast pass or jump on depending on the wait. No wait, but Leilani wasn’t tall enough and Trey didn’t want to do it so we went to grab lunch before heading over to Nemo and the other kid friendly rides. Trey had his left over donuts from breakfast and Leilani, Louie and I shared the left over chicken tenders and bought some cheeseburger kids meals. Just the right amount of food at a very reasonable price. Both meals came with grapes so Trey ate both of those. The set up at Epcot was the best because you could get refills on your drinks all day with the soda fountains out in the dining area instead of behind the counter.

Again, no wait for Nemo and Friends. I thought this ride would be a little more exciting. Maybe a little bit more like the Buss Lightyear ride or even the Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom. But it was pretty lame. After we got off Nemo were were going to head straight to Figment but we decided to check out Turtle Talk with Crush. The set up was a little nerve wracking because the let all the kids sit in the front on the floor while the parents sit on benches. I was so nervous it was going to end and our kids were going to be separated from us. ( maybe this comes from a deep seeded fear from me, myself being separated from my family at Epcot as a child. ) Anyway, it was a cute interactive show, Crush even called on Trey to ask a question but he got nervous and forgot his question… so precious. Crush was actually very funny. We walked around the inside of the facility for a few minutes afterwards, viewed the aquariums and let the kids take apiculture inside Bruce the Shark’s mouth. Then we headed over to Figment. Another lame ride, or it was at least until Leilani commented on how it wasn’t scary at all and then there was a big gush of wind and a loud noise, no big deal though. Upon exiting the ride they had a little imagination play area. Both kids got to design their own Figment and play around a few minutes before we left. AS we were leaving we saw that there was no wait at Captain EO, so we thought why not. ( should have kept walking) Leilani thought it was too loud and didn’t want to wear the 3D glasses so she and I left to take a potty break. Louie said Trey really enjoyed it and he even told Louie to tell me how good it was but Louie said it was brutal… I mean the movie was made in 1986 so how good could it still be.

We went back to fill up on drinks again then headed over to “Mexico” for the Donald Duck 3 amigos ride. This was my favorite of the rides at Epcot. Very similar to its a Small World without the annoying stuck in your head for the rest of eternity song. It was so nice to be inside and a cool dimly lit place, plus it had Donald so the kids LOVED it. We left and ran into donald outside for a photo op… Trey refused so Leilani was on her own. She LOVES the characters and wanted to take a picture with everyone that we saw, some just had way longer lines then others and I know all too well out waiting in line for 30 minutes just to have them tell you they are taking a break when you get to the front. From Donald we went to the Maelstom, which I think used to be called the Matterhorn. This was the longest wait we had up to this point. the sign said 20 minutes but it couldn’t have been more than 15. I remember enjoying the ride as a kid because of the surprise backward drop but it was so lame and the kids were even a little scared of the troll monsters or whatever. This was our last stop at Epcot, we grabbed refills on our drinks and went back to the bus stop.

Hollywood Studios 4:00-7:15pm:

Leilani fell asleep on the bus and Trey was very near ready to fall asleep so we decided to invest in another stroller for the remainder of the day. It was good to know that we only have to pay one fee to use the strollers and both parks that we had left. As soon as we put Lani in the stroller she woke up and was ready to take in all the sights. Louie wanted to try the Tower of Terror so on our way there we saw that Beauty and the Beast has just started so being that this was all Leilani asked to do we rushed up to watch the rest. She loved it! She sang along and warned me of the bad guys and asked where beauty and beast were whenever either one of them wasn’t in the scene. It amazes me that they can fit so much of the movie into just 25 minutes. From there Louie went to see if they had a single riders line for Tower, they didn’t but the line was so short he got on anyway while the kids and I waited. It was a good time for them to sit and rest and also take a bathroom break. I told Louie he could to the Rock N roller coaster but I just needed help getting over to the kids area that has the Disney Junior and Little Mermaid shows. We walked over and he just decided to stay with us, I mean who wants to pass up dark air conditioned spaces when you have been up and moving since 7:00 am in the hot Florida sun. The kids absolutely LOVED Disney Junior as they have added Jake and the Neverland Pirates to the show and this is their new obsession. We ventured down to see just how long the wait was for Toy Story Mania… 140 minutes… sorry Trey won’t be doing that today. Star Wars was just as long, so the 2 top priorities on our list got the boot. We back tracked to the Little mermaid but had to wait 20 minutes for the next show so we grabbed a drink and listened to the tail end of the High School Musical show under the big wizard hat. Went back for the Little Mermaid and it was so worth the wait… Leilani loved it. Even though the kids have the most fun on the rides I think they both favor the shows because their favorite movies come to life and seem so real. We left Mermaid then thought about doing the Narnia show but heard someone say its kind of boring just shows props and stuff like that from the film so we walked around and found Pizza Planet for dinner. Even though we didn’t let them play any of the arcade game the kids still had sensory overload just from being in there and looking at everything. They thought it was so cool. Hollywood Studios is not as friendly on the wallet as Epcot. Way more expensive for less food that didn’t even taste good. We made our way out and headed for the bus for our last stop at the Magic Kingdom. We thought about calling it quits a couple times, not to go home but just to stay in once place and not feel rushed. But with one place left to go, we were feeling pretty good about it, not to mention for the most part the kids had been angels all day besides the occasional bicker over the stroller, no problems at all.

The Grand Finale: Magic Kingdom 7:50- 10:30

Animal Kingdom and Epcot were EMPTY, Hollywood Studios was a little crowded but no big deal if you avoided the main attractions but Magic Kingdom was a MAD HOUSE. I guess everyone had the same thought process we did… end the day here because it has a parade and fireworks and it stays open an hour later than the other 2. The only thing Trey talked about ALL day was the Buzz Lightyear ride so that was our mission. We raced paced all the crazy people sitting on the sidewalks waiting for the parade that didn’t even start for another hour and a half. There was a 20 minute wait or we could fastpass and visit something else.  Fastpass it is. Trey had also asked to do the raceway so Louie went with him and I took Lani on the teacups. Both had about 20 minute waits so it filled up our time before getting on Buzz. Lani wanted to see the Castle so we thought we’d walk through it over to the Carousel and Snow White and Philharmonic and all those but they had it blocked off. Bummer. We headed for the Magic Carpet ride and decided to give in and just watch the parade. I normally skip the parade and fireworks because it means there are no lines on most of the rides. But there was prime real estate open at the front of the side walk and right next to an ice cream vendor so we set up camp and waited, and waited, and waited. The parade was supposed to start at 9:00. It didn’t start until 9:15 and we were at the tail end of it so it was even later by the time the beginning got to us. The kids loved it though, worth the wait. It was so crazy to watch it and totally remember seeing this creations as a kid.

After the parade we had a bathroom break then hit up the flying carpet ride. This was my favorite of the day. At a time you would have thought the kids would be so difficult and cranky, they had huge smiles on their faces, it was still hot but it was breezy and there was no wait for the ride. I wish it would have lasted a little longer or that we would have gotten on again and witnessed the fireworks from up in the air. I don’t even know if it still runs during the fireworks though. We decided to call it a night but as we walked by Pirates of the Caribbean Leilani said she wanted to check it out to see if it was scary or not. Such a brave little thing. So we did. There were a few “dark” moments but nothing crazy scary for them. It was relaxing and cool and so amazing to see these recreations of Jack Sparrow. As we exited the ride we caught the finale of the fireworks. A spectacular way to end a spectacular day with our amazing family. We didn’t hit all the rides we would have liked to but we’ve been to Magic Kingdom enough times to know that Peter Pan and Pooh are cool but not worth the forever long lines, and even though its a small world is nice and cool and relaxing its not worn the never ending song in your head. Trey originally said he wanted to try Space Mountain and I would have loved to do that with him but by the end of the day he wasn’t interested and the line was a little long so we stuck to what we knew would deliver smiles. We pulled out of the parking lot at 10:49 and made it home a round 1:00 am. I usually don’t mind speeding a little and making it under 2 hours but I just didn’t want to risk a ticket and ruin our great day.

Things I would have done differently:

First of all I think this would be more fun to try in the cooler months but it wasn’t all that un bearable with all the rides barely having a line we spent most of our time in doors. We waited the longest for bus transportation but it was still better to ride in an already cool bus instead of a stifling car then have to park and walk forever. It would have been better to have done it when we were staying another night so that we could stay until the very end of the night and not have to attempt exiting with strollers in a mob of people, also we wouldn’t have had to drive 2 hours after the longest day ever. I would have started at Hollywood Studios instead of Animal Kingdom to ensure we at least got a fast pass for the rides we wanted to see. Other than that it was a pretty cool experience and we feel very accomplished to be able to say we did all 4 in 1 day.

 

Overwhelmed September 8, 2010

Its been another 2 weeks since my last post. Life is speeding by right now and I just want to scream “STOP!” I remember being younger and watching the clock tick waiting for it to be 2:59 and for that bell to ring. For the weeks to pass by quickly so I could spend the weekend with my friends and the months to move even faster so summer vacation would be here already. All those years just wishing I could be a little older, wanting more freedom and now I just want to give it all back. Well not all of it exactly. I just want the opposite things. I want time to slow down. I want to enjoy the little things, savor the moments of every day. I want my kids to stay babies, even though they no longer are. I want my days to stop blurring together so I know what is going on and to feel on top of things instead of wishing there was more time in the day to do all I feel I need and want to do .

I am really enjoying being a coach. My girls are a lot of fun and it just feels right to be back in the game even if it is from a different perspective. I just wish that I was a little bit more prepared for the effect it was going to have on my everyday life. I went into this thinking that I was just going to be an assistant. be there to help out and lend my knowledge, less responsibility, more accountability. Things changed… I have a ton of responsibility  now and I’m struggling with the time management side of it as well as the drama that comes with 12-15 year old girls. (Wow don’t even get me started on that). This is taking up maybe 15 hours of my week physically and quite a bit more mentally and emotionally, but either way, not a TON but I still feel like I am being pulled in a million directions. I don’t know how moms work full time. Not saying that I don’t know how they “manage” it. Saying, I don’t know how they cope with it. How they go all day with out seeing their kids. I still spend all day with Lani, but I miss Trey so much! I feel like he is really going from a toddler to a kid right before my eyes and I just want to put it all in slow motion so I can enjoy the transformation. Its just the littlest things that are amazing to me. Last week he came home talking about the changes in seasons and how it wasn’t August anymore it was September and singing a song about the days of the week. As much as I am struggling with all these changes, I am so proud of him and his love for school and learning. I pray his passion stays around for a long, long time.

In the mean time, I’m just taking a few moments to catch my breath and get centered before the hectic routine starts up again in an hour or so.

Some highlights of the last 2 weeks, the birth of my new niece Jaelyn Reese, I was so blessed to witness her debut into the world and love her like my own. Her mom is one of the most important people in my life and I couldn’t be more proud of her. Also, we took a trip to Orlando this past weekend and Trey was super brave and went on a bunch of water slides by himself. Just more confirmation that he’s growing up which is a good things. I look forward to the times when we can go on roller coasters together but for now I’ll keep him as he is.

Catch up August 26, 2010

It’s been 3 weeks since I blogged last. A lot has changed in our daily routines since then.

Trey started school for the 1st time and LOVES it! Most days he doesn’t want to leave. This was a big adjustment for me for most of the 1st week, especially the 1st day. Louie picked him up on his 1st day because he wasn’t able to go with us to drop him off. So I was super anxious for him to get home. 5 hours seems to last an eternity! He is doing really well at school, he did get in trouble one day for pinching a boy that took a toy away but other than that he is doing great. We went to the store so I could get a huge cork-board to display all his work since our fridge isn’t magnetic :0) It’s mommy’s “brag wall” and he reminds me every day that we need to hang the new work on it, except when I told him we needed to start taking things down to make room for the new stuff he said we just needed to buy more cork-boards ha! We wouldn’t have any wall space left. Trey is also going to an after school program a few days a week when I have volleyball practice. He LOVES this even more. Jupiter Christian’s preschool program is any kids heaven! Toys, movies, play dough, art time, playground time, all in a peaceful (very) air conditioned environment. He can’t get enough and asks me every day if he gets to go to “volleyball school” too.

Speaking of volleyball, this has been the biggest adjustment for us so far. I have practice 5 days a week, last week we practiced right after school so this was rough because I have Leilani with me because she is not old enough for the after care program yet. I was pretty nervous and intimidated on my first day, in addition to Leilani being clingy and bratty, it didn’t go as I had hoped. Once I got the first day jitters out of my system things have really started to improve, especially on days that I don’t have Leilani. This week has been great because every day except Wednesday we practice from 5-7 so Louie gets the kids and the girls have my undivided attention. We are having fun and getting better at the same time. Don’t get me wrong, there are still challenges, ones that I am still not sure how to handle, but we are all learning together. I am learning , probably as I will learn as a parent, that I can’t always be there friend. I need to discipline and call them out on their bull. My practice schedule has drastically changed our evening routines. On days when I practice early I have to rush home to get dinner ready, on days when we practice late, I have to have dinner ready before I leave so louie can just heat it up and get the kids fed. He has really stepped up in this area. Getting them fed, bathed, and ready for bed. Even reading to them which he never really does. Which kind of brings me to the biggest changes in our routines since the start of school. Since we are waking up before the sun ( we never used to wake up before 8:00 ) the kids are ready for bed by 7:30. Leilani comes with me to take Trey to school and then goes back to bed for a nap around 9:00am. I was hating this new routine the 1st couple days before I realized she should take a nap early. We are really get in to the swing of things, which I am sure will all change once we add game days into the mix.

I try to take the kids some place for a special treat every couple days. We went for cupcakes with the Hobbies, smoothies another day, the dollar store once and to my all time favorite treat place Annie’s Italian Ice. I had a strawberry gelati and the kids each had cookie monster ice cream. It was as fabulous as I remember it. The last time I had it was the night before Trey was born when I was in the hospital starting the inducing procedure. SOOOO yummy and refreshing on these hot, humid August days! Speaking of inducing, my best friend Leah is going in tonight to start her induction. Cervadil tonight, petocin tomorrow. CAN’T WAIT!!!

Comfort August 5, 2010

I’m kind of having “blogger’s block” right now so I decided to try another Plinky Prompt .

I decided on What’s your favorite comfort food, and why?

Ironically, I was thinking about doing a post about this yesterday, as I was in need of some comfort food this week. I’ll give you the back story first. Monday morning I had my yearly gyno appointment. Always so fun because my doctor continuously reminds me of how overweight I am. This time he did not, thankfully. However, he found a lump/mass in my breast and wanted me to get a mammogram and ultrasound on it asap. I held it together pretty well as he was telling me about his youngest patient to have breast cancer and the amounts of people who have had cancer recently. Even made it through making the appointment with the receptionist. Got out the door and started walking to the car and the flood gates opened. Every possible worse case scenario started running through my head. My kids growing up with out me. My husband doing life without me by his side. My parents having to bury me first ( I’d be cremated btw but thats off subject). So one else raising my kids. Etc Etc Etc… I called Louie when I got in the car and couldn’t even form a coherent thought much less get the words out. When I finally managed to tell him, he was so supportive and encouraging. He offered to take off work to go with me to the appointment, if you know Louie this is huge because he hates taking time off work. I drove straight to my moms because I needed comfort. I was supposed to go do a cleaning job right after but couldn’t pull it together, I’m still shocked I even made it to my moms safely. My mom and her husband were also very supportive and encouraging and prayed with me and for me through out the day. I was kind of in depression mode for most of the day. Sat on the couch listening to music all day when I came across my cousin’s friend Karla Davis ‘s version of Temporary Home by Carrie Underwood. It hit me… obviously I don’t want to die. I don’t want to leave my loved ones behind. I don’t want to miss all the important things in the lives of my kids… but this is my temporary home. If it is in God’s plan for me to leave and enter my real home then so be it. I had to let go of the fear and give it all to him and trust that whatever the results, it was HIS plan. Coming to this realization did not make me any less terrified, just gave me some peace I guess.

Anyway, before any of this happened on Monday my mom invited us for dinner at her house, but I couldn’t because I have started a coaching gig at JCS and had open gym that night. She ended up taking out some of her home made spaghetti sauce for me to take home and heat up for the family while I went to the gym. My kids love love love spaghetti and ate huge portions of it! For me, coming home and eating my mom’s spaghetti was one of the biggest comforts of my day. She has made some tweaks to her recipe since I was a kid but nevertheless it tasted like “home”. I can’t even describe how it makes me feel, I just love it and could eat it all day every day. I could eat it cold or hot, with our with out noodles. It doesn’t matter.

I went for my mammogram and ultrasound early Tuesday morning. The ladies were so so so nice and made me feel very comfortable through a pretty intense and scary situation. And even they are not supposed to tell me any of the results they both told me that it looked like nothing to worry about just some built up tissue and that the doctor would call and confirm these results in a day or two.

Sure enough, I got the call yesterday morning that the tests came back clear and I would not have to get a biopsy. But that they would like me to come back in a month to recheck everything to make sure. Praise GOD! After taking Trey to his 1st dentist appointment (that lasted about 2 hours, UGH), we came home and I indulged in some more of my comfort food. Boy, did it hit the spot! I can eat it in happy times, in sad times, in scary times or in times of celebration.

What’s your comfort food?

Cruise Series- “Firsts” August 3, 2010

I want to do a couple of posts about our cruise that we went on in June. I want to document all the things that we did, all the places we went and all the fun that we had while it is still semi-fresh in my mind.

This trip was filled with a bunch of firsts for our family. It was our first real family vacation outside of Orlando and New York when we visit more family. It was our first extended family vacation with my side of the family. It was the first time Louie and the kids got passports. It was the first time Louie and the kids have left the country, aside from PR back in March. It was our first time on a cruise. It was my first time visiting Key West, even though I am a 3rd generation NATIVE Floridian.There were some other things too but these are what sticks out in my mind right now.

Of all the amazing things we did and all the firsts that we took part in, one first that wasn’t so amazing might haunt me for the rest of my life.

On our second or third day on board, Louie, the kids and I were headed back to our room to get them changed and take them up to “Camp Carnival”. Our stewards were in the process of turning down our room for the night so they asked us to hang out for a few minutes while they finished up. So we went to sit on the stairs by the elevators and wait until they were finished. Trey was acting up and being really disobedient and out of control so I was dealing with him and Louie was supposed to be watching Leilani. After I was done talking to Trey I asked Louie where Leilani was and he said she went up the stairs ( HERE’S YOUR SIGN!) I was dumbfounded that he was still sitting there and went up after her. Got up to the next level… no Leilani. Went up another level…. still no Lani. Are room was on deck 7 in the rear of the ship. I ran up and down decks 7 -8 & 9 a good 10 or more times. Calling out her name. Asking crew members if they had seen a little girl ( none of which spoke very much english) and beginning to become pretty frantic. I finally ran back down to deck 7 to find Louie still sitting in the same spot playing on his phone as calm as could be. I asked him if she came back he said no. I kind of flipped out on him and grabbed Trey and ran to our room to ask our room stewards for help. I had held it together pretty well until I actually had to say ” Please help… my daughter is missing!” At this point I LOST it COMPLETELY!!! I couldn’t form a rational thought, I couldn’t speak clearly and I was just a sobbing mess. Our head steward ran to the stairs to see what he could do while the girl steward sat with me and Trey to calm me down. After another few minutes, and my mind running through every possible worse case scenario only making matters worse I got up and started walking back to the stairs. The head steward was walking back towards us saying that they found her. Louie came around the corner holding her and she looked terrified. She knew what she did was wrong… I was elated just to see her again but still gave her a good reprimand where we were both crying. The rest of the trip, and even to this day, she reminds me about how she went away from mommy on the big boat. She told my mom about it and how she made mommy sad and she was scared. This does not mean that she has stopped wandering off because she still does and each time I freak out just as much now knowing how scary it is. By far the scariest 15 minutes of my life! It felt like eternity.

I promise the rest of the posts about our cruise will be happy ones that share insight on why you should take one too. I just wanted to get that one out for memories sake.

Just a note before I forget July 22, 2010

I just wanted to “log” something that happened yesterday because it is just too cute to forget.

Last night as I was getting dinner ready, Leilani was sitting up at the counter eating the carrots and tomatoes I was chopping and begging for more yogurt, you know, helping me. Louie was running a little later than usual because he had to stop by my dad’s house to pick up a knee brace. When he walked in around 6:30 he was clearly worn out form the day. He went tot he fridge to find something to drink and said something like “I’m beat”.

Leilani then says , and this is the part I don’t want to forget, “You having a rough day Daddy?”

I had to kind of do a double take and make sure I heard her correctly but that is definitely what she said. I asked her where she learned that from and she looks at me almost kind of irritated and says “I’m just talking to MY DAD!” She clearly didn’t want me interrupting her conversation with dad.

I get that there is nothing special about these statements. It’s just the fact that she’s only 2 and she knew when and how to ask such a question that took me by surprise. Just more and more proof that my babies aren’t babies anymore

Summer Lovin’ July 20, 2010

We are having a pretty eventful summer this year. We went on our 1st family cruise, (more on that in a later post), spent lots of time with family for my cousin’s wedding, spent lots of time with friends for my best friend Leah‘s baby shower, and again this weekend for our friends’ engagement party up in PSL. But most importantly we are spending lots of time together as a family!

I have had the fever for another baby really bad recently since a lot of my friends are having babies right now. But I have to admit how nice it is that the kids are a little older now and can partake in cool summer pastimes. Like baseball games, pool parties and sunset bike rides… ok I’ll be honest, they haven’t started riding their own bikes yet but they are along for the ride.

I want to go through our weekend in snapshots :0) I found this amazing setting on my camera that I have absolutely fallen in love with! It’s called like “smileshot” of something and will automatically take 3 consecutive pictures when one of your subjects smiles. Or you can use it like I have been using it and press the button when you want and it still takes 3 consecutive shots… pretty much the coolest thing ever either way you use it.

Here are some shots from Friday, the kids and I went swimming at the Jupiter Aquatic Complex, which is one of my new favorite spots. Very few people there and for the 1st hour we basically had the whole place to ourselves.

Friday evening we made plans with my cousin Lydee, and her boyfriend Wes to go the the minor league game at Roger Dean. I am not sure, but I think this might have been Leilani’s 1st game. Like she really paid attention :0) Got some cute pictures of the kids and they had fun on the bounce house/slide, eating junk food and taking a few swings at the “batting cages”

Saturday Leilani and I went to Leah’s house to help out with her dog Hollywood’s 12 puppies. They were the teeny-tiniest little things. Leah is due in 5 weeks and I really want to be there to help her out in anyway I could, even though dogs are not my specialty. We soaked up all their adorableness then headed north to PSL for our friends’ Brad and Danielle’s luau engagement pool party. The kids had the best time! We got there around 3:00pm and they were in the pool until we left at 8:00pm. A few breaks here and there for potty and snacks but other than that, they were little fish all afternoon. Daddy, Tio Nelson and all their friends ended up in there with them by the end of the evening and boy did they have a ball. I haven’t even been able to get Lani to jump in off the side with out holding my hands and from the sitting position. She was not only jumping in to daddy and Tio but letting them throw her SKY HIGH! These pictures turned out so fun with the consecutive shots.

I was shocked when she wanted more even after she belly/face flopped on this one. She did get a little upset with Tio for doing it to her but she forgave and forgot :0) The best part of the day was when we were getting ready to leave and I was getting Trey dressed. I know I should be ashamed not only for making him encouraging him to do this but also that I forgot to take my camera out forfuture blackmail adorable memories. After I stripped him down and dried him off, but before I got any of his clothes on him I told him to run up and say “We’re going streakin” then come right back. He got a little excited and went for 3 laps around the pool running and screaming “We’re going ‘hunting’ ” Not sure how he confused those words but either way he had everyone laughing.  Good times were had by all. I was pretty dumbfounded that neither one of them slept on the hour long ride home.

Like I said… really, really enjoying these ages. So great to see them interact with all our old college buddies who are just now beginning their journeys in starting families. And by that I mean just now putting rings on their girls fingers :0) Can’t wait for them all to have kids too! Until then, they’ll just have to practice with ours.

Plinky Prompts July 16, 2010

Saw this idea on Katie ‘s blog so thought I’d check it out since I’m trying to waste time before we head to the water park.

I only researched it for about 2 minutes and only found a few “prompts” and decided on this one:

“What book could you read over and over?“

If you would have asked me this question a year ago I would have been clueless. I used to be a pretty avid reader when I was younger but tried to stay away from it because I can’t just read a few pages at a time. I have to get through it and find out what happens as quickly as possible, so long story short… I would lose a lot of sleep when I would read.

Anyway, last summer my cousins got me into the Twilight Saga and the Harry Potter series. Both of which I had sworn off beforehand. I couldn’t imagine myself getting interested in mystical, magical fiction. But I was wrong. There are 4 books in the Twilight Saga and 7 books in the Harry Potter series. I read all 11 within 1 month and then the Twilight books again before the 4th of July. Then I read the 2nd Twilight book, New Moon, for the 3rd time right before the movie came out in November.

I’m not sure that I can pinpoint an exact reason that these books are so appealing to such a wide audience, or even why they appeal to me. I just really enjoyed them. I guess Twilight because of the romantic side of it and Harry Potter for the suspense and creativity of it. In a life that is pretty routine as far as being a wife and mommy, it was nice to escape to absolutely unreal places. Both authors did an excellent job of painting vivid pictures and making the pages come to life. In my opinion, as with most books I believe, the books far exceed the movies.

The only negative thing I have to say about these books is I wish I had them on my Sony Reader My husband bought me the reader for Christmas after I had already purchased all 11 books, they weren’t exactly cheap when you buy them all at relatively the same time. I am tempted to splurge and buy them again anyway but I won’t …. for now anyway.

If you are a skeptic, I can tell you that I was too. I think a lot of my negative attitude toward it came from peers from my past that judged both as “satanic, of the devil”. Which in retrospect is a load of crap! It’s literature, good versus evil. Fiction is fiction. I’m actually excited for my kids to be able to read Harry Potter when they get a little older. It will be something that can bridge a generation gap between them and their aunts and uncles.

I went way over board on this “discussion” . :0)

Something to get back in the swing of things… July 16, 2010

something i accomplished today: Made it through Trey’s school sopping without shedding a tear. I’ll get back to you on this on the 1st day HA!

something i screwed up today: Trey told me he had to poop while we were at the pool and I didn’t take him seriously. Then I got really upset with him when we didn’t make it to the toilet in time.

something fun i did with the kids: Went swimming with Katie, Harper and Laynie

something funny or cute one of my kids did or said: Last night I went to check on Leilani only to find she wasn’t in her room. I found her fast asleep in Trey’s bed all snuggled up. Grabbed my camera took a picture then went to move her to her room and found her sleeping with her sandals on. She FA-LIPPED out when I tried to take them off. Anyway, I asked her today why she wasn’t in her bed and she very directly told me  ”Cause I want to sleep with Trey!” Insert “DUH” if she only knew the word, her tone and facial expressions said it all! I then asked her if she wanted to share a room with her brother so mommy could have another baby and she was all about that… :0) Just gotta get hubby on board haha.

something yummy i ate today: Triple chunk brownies a little under cooked so they were nice and gooey… YUM!

something i read today: My best friend Leah’s new blog. She is 6 weeks away from her due date and her dog is having 12 puppies in the morning. GOOD READ ;o) The Bauer\’s Blog

a tv show or movie i watched today: Rookie Blue

something i did today that i hardly ever do: cooked all 3 meals on the stove. Unheard of!

something i did today that i do every day: Got angry over little things. Just being honest

something i am thankful for right now: That I am blessed to stay home and raise my kids. I don’t know how work force mom’s go all day without being in their kids lives, makes me sad.

It’s been a while… July 16, 2010

Hello audience of 1.5 people, thank you for returning after my hiatus :0)

I promised myself that once we got settled into the house (last year) I would be better about blogging on a regular basis. Well here I am, 9 months later, posting my first blog of the new year. HA! I’ve always been a procrastinator what can I say.

I am sitting in bed struggling to fall asleep because my heart is heavy. Not for any scary, sad, depressing reason other than my babies are not babies anymore. I took Trey, who is now 4 years old, school supply shopping for the first time today. Picking out a backpack, arguing over what crayons, markers and pencils to get, deciding on a few new shirts… made me realize all to quickly TIME IS FLYING!

I have about 1 month left with my 1st born before his educational journey through life begins. 1 month left of sleeping in, staying in our pajamas for a few hours (all day on occasion) and taking our time to get breakfast ready and eaten while watching morning cartoons.  1 month left of vacations to where ever without having to explain ourselves. 1 month left of 24/7 access to the cutest, funniest, smartest mini-Louie in the whole world. Trey is one of a kind and I don’t know what life will be like without him by my side all day everyday.

There have been some many, many days where I pray, beg and plead for just a small break from the duties of mommyhood… but today put it all in perspective for me. In the blink of an eye, I’m going to be attending sporting events, uselessly trying to help with homework, be a shoulder to cry on for a broken heart, dorm room shopping and wedding planning… don’t get me wrong I look forward to all of those things and hope I am grateful for them when I am in that season… but right now I just want to keep my little boy a toddler for as long as possible. For him to need me and want me more than any other human being in his life. I want to wake up to his hot, stinky breath in my face and cuddle for 45 minutes without having to worry about being late for school. I want to take him places he wants to go and be his best friend before I am the one he is most embarrassed of in life.

I wish I had been better at keeping a record of my little man’s life thus far. Here’s hoping I stick to it from here on out. If you could, please pray for me to be at peace with the changes that are coming our way, not only for my little guy as he starts his journey but for Louie and I as we become parents to a student.

Thanks for “listening” and welcoming me back.