One Of Those Days

Ever have one of those days where you feel like you are so overwhelmed you just want to crawl into a hole and hope no-one finds you? Well, that's what today is like for me. We are going to the lake tonight for the weekend (that's the good part). Had to go to the grocery store with Emmaline (AKA- Wild Thang). She pitched a big one right in the middle of one of the aisles for me. It was one of her best so far if I do say so myself. Came home, unloaded groceries, got a birthday present wrapped for a girl in Annelise's class (had to give it to her today since it is the last day of school). While at school this morning, found out that they get out at 11:30 instead of 12:20. Brian tells me as I am getting ready to leave this morning that I need to run by the bank and pay a loan off and it has to be done before 2 pm- and oh, yeah, he has no idea where one of those banks is- but he is "sure" I will probably pass by one on my way to school (which, of course, I did not.) Got together some clothes for a friend that E cannot wear anymore- yes that had to be done today. And at some point today, I have to get the humongous mountain of recycleables together and take them to the recycle center. (Tried to do that yesterday, but it was pouring down rain.) Also need to finish packing for the lake, clean out the car, and at least attempt to half-way clean the house before we leave tonight. Insert scream of frustration here. Some of you may be thinking, 'Why didn't she do all this stuff earlier in the week?' Well- Monday, we were at the lake, Tuesday was Annelise's end-of-the-year party (all morning long) which was immediately followed by a pool party at a friend's home. Tuesday night was the last soccer game. Wednesday was Emmaline's school party (yes- all morning) and we went home, everybody got a bath and hair wash and we went to church for supper and the last night of this class we have been taking. (Which, ironicallly, is called "Biblical Priorities and the Tyranny of the Urgent". Obviously, I learned nothing!) SO, I did make it to the bank- all the way behind a smoking work truck that went 25-30 mph in a 50 mph zone- no I could not pass the guy. Found that the check to pay off the loan was $25.00 short- dug through my purse and found enough to pay that. Went to get Annelise early to avoid school traffic and her teacher tells me "She has been a little difficult today. She has been crying and saying things like 'Nobody likes me'. " Great. Usually a perfect student and well-behaved child- she chooses today to act out. Needless to say there will be naps to be taken this afternoon so that we will hopefully have a non-screaming 2 hour trip to the lake. Got to go feed the girls some lunch, pack and try to keep my sanity. I know, there are many out there having a much worse day than me. I am not complaining, just sharing a little frustration in a light-hearted manner. This is one of those days where I think about the title of this blog and am really-really-really thankful for God's grace. Sometimes it is the only thing that gets me through!! I promise to take pictures at the lake this weekend. I have been so slack. Before it sounds like I have nothing to be happy about today, I did realize when I shut off my alarm this morning at 6:15 that this will be the last day I have to do that for a few months! Now that is something to be excited about.

Memorial Day Weekend

Ok- I'm out of "defense" mode and I'm going to give a run-down of how this past week-end went. Can you believe that I didn't take any pictures?? I am so slack sometimes. First of all- props go out to the military folks, past, present and future. Those people have my respect and honor. I come from a family full of military and I am so proud of our men and women out there risking their lives for what they believe in. Alrighty-the water was soooo cold at the lake. You would never know it by watching the girls swim from sun-up to sundown, but it was frigid. I had to get in to help Annelise get her skis on and make sure she was positioned correctly to get up on them and I thought I would have a stroke when I had to go down that ladder into the water. I think I set a new world record for going down a ladder the slowest ever. Anyway- it took her 3 tries, but she popped up on the third time and skied all over the lake. I didn't think it would take her long. She was getting really good at it by the end of last Summer. Emmaline could not be convinced to do anything- even with bribery. We promised her blendy pens and a pancake puffs set (girl loves her infomercials) and she wouldn't even go for that. Maybe next time. Last Summer I only got on the wakeboard one time. Brian gives me a hard time if I don't ski and stuff and tells me that I am not going to be allowed to turn into an "old lady". So, he bought me my very own wakeboard and made me try it out this past week-end. Let me tell you, it is amazing what a difference going to the gym has made! I popped right up on that board and stayed on it until we got back to the dock. I didn't even get my hair wet. Even though I have been so sore since then that I can hardly walk, it still felt good to get out there and be doing watersports again. I am bound and determined to get back to skiing on one ski again ( I did do that last year, but my ski control was terrible.) I really am motivated to get back in good shape. I want to be 70 and still be out there tearin' up the lake. All in all, we had a wonderful, relaxing week-end. Oh- Monday weigh in results (we don't have a scale at the lake- I mean, come on, it's the lake.).... I have lost 4.8 pounds and B has lost 6.4. I am so frustrated- he actually sat on the couch every night at the lake and ate oreo after oreo (double-stuff, mind you) and dunked them in milk and he still loses. I had one stinkin' cookie the whole week-end. I am so determined to win, though. I will prevail.............

Have To Vent

First off- we had a great trip to the lake. I'll talk about that later..... Someone (who didn't have the courage to leave their name) left a huffy comment on my post below (Where Do They Find These People?) and told me I was a hypocrite because I called the lady on the show I watched "lesbionic-looking and extremely overweight". Well- what some see as hypocritical I obviously see as being truthful and giving an accurate description. She did look lesbionic and she was extremely overweight. Sorry- that is the way it was, folks. I'm not hatin'- just calling them as I see them. I am brutally honest- it is just one of my traits. I am not going to lie about something and I am not going to sugar coat anything. I just can't. I call a spade a spade and so forth. I can understand why someone would see me as being a little judgemental on my description- but I certainly did not mean for it to seem that way. I didn't say she was a bad person, I didn't criticize her character, I didn't say I didn't care about her - I just described what I saw. Period. As I mentioned in that post- I am not perfect. And I am betting that the person who left that comment isn't perfect either, and I would bet even further that the same person who left that comment probably tells other people how they should be living and yet has all kinds of issues within themselves that they need to work on. In fact- this woman in this show was so overweight that after she styled her one-inch long buzz-cut hair, (again- that is what her hair-style was)- she made a comment about how just styling her hair exhausted her. Now that is unhealthy- sorry- it is. This blog allows me to talk about whatever I want. I express my opinion on it and sometimes I vent on it. I would not ever want to ruin my witness with the things I say- but when I am giving a description of something or saying what I think about something, I am going to be totally and completely honest. People who know me know that I tell it like it is and I don't dance around anything. These people on the show that I watched were chosen simply for the fact that they seemed crazy and it made it look like it was an accurate example of how Christians behaved. That is what the media does- on purpose- and it makes me angry. Just my thoughts. I wasn't describing her with the intent of being mean - I was describing exactly what I was seeing. So - to whomever I offended, I apologize, but I wouldn't recommend for you to read this blog anymore, 'cause life ain't all sunshine and unicorns. Lighten up.

Gotta Love Holiday Week-Ends

Tonight is K-5 graduation and then we are off to the lake in the morning! I am so looking forward to sitting on the porch in the mornings with my coffee and a light blanket and just looking at the water. At that time of day it is usually very quiet except for the occassional fishing boat.

I know these pictures are both of sunsets, but that is just my favorite time of day at the lake. So serene and the sunsets always seem to be so much bolder over the water than here. When I was little and spent the Summers at the lake with my grandparents, my grandfather and I used to go and sit on the glider rocker every evening and watch the sunset off the porch. I loved to see the gold streak of sun down the lake. It looked so bright and blinding. I remember asking my grandfather one night what it was (this is obviously before I had an understanding of what reflection was....). He told me that once a day for only a little while, the sun spilled out liquid gold onto the water and that if you went out with a pail, you could actually scoop up the gold. I was just amazed. I know the reason I love the lake so much is because of the memories I have there with my grandfather. He took me fishing, told me stories about the Indians and put arrowheads where I would find them on the shores. He was the only one who would sleep in sleeping bags on the porch with me at night because I thought it was cool to sleep outside. (That was always after our nightly bowl of ice cream- usually Heavenly Hash or Black Cherry flavor.) I started skiing at age 3 and was driving the boat by age 11. I see my girls getting the same love for the lake that I have and that is so exciting for me. My grandfather is really sick now, and on hospice. He has had alzheimers for about 20 years and end-stage Parkinsons for about 8 years now. His lakehouse is in a bit of disrepair and will be left to my cousins- which is fine. We have our own place now- plus it is just not the same for me to go back to my grandfather's lakehouse without him there. I have so many great memories with him and I get to revisit those each time I go to the lake- no matter which lake or which house. I plan to spend a lot of time there this Summer since the girls love it so much and they are a little more independent now. I am truly excited about building the new house this fall/winter, though. It will be nice not to have to worry if the house has slid down the hill or if it will fall in when the girls jump around!! (Yes, Chris- thank goodness for shems.) Hope everyone has a really great week-end and takes some time to relax- if even for a small moment! I'll be back Monday........

Where Do They Find These People??

So, the other night B and I were watching TV and we saw this show on the guide called "Jesus Camp". With a title like that we had to see what it was about. Well- after about 5 minutes of watching it we had a deeper understanding of why some people think Christians are just weird, boring people. Being Christians ourselves, we know what a lot of people think and we sometimes forget why- but things like this remind us. These people were way out in nowhere-town and the show started by showing this family with about 4 kids and they were focusing on the little girl- probably about 8 or 10 years old. She was talking about how she took dance and performed with a Christian dance class and stuff. I don't have an issue with that. Then she starts talking about all these celebrities like Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, etc..... And she said " I just don't care anything about them" and continued to talk badly about them. She then went downstairs to where her mom was and apparantly the "home school" was starting for the day. Now, I have this thing about home-schooling. I think if you are one of the few people who can pull it off and do it well, then great for you. But a lot who home school should probably not be doing it. Plus, there is a stereotype that goes along with it, and these people fit it to the T. I don't know what the parents have been teaching the kids in this family, but if your kid says she doesn't care for someone- anyone- then you have clearly missed the mark of teaching them what being a Christian is all about. It just got worse from there. They got ready to go to "camp" and headed up to Devil's Lake for it. Seriously, was there not somewhere else in nowhere-town to have a Christian camp?!( Hey, kids, let's go over to Satan's Meadow for a little Bible study....... )They showed the camp workers getting ready for the kids to get there and they were praying over the chairs and for everything to go well- again no issues with that. Then the lesbionic-looking extremely overweight director starts talking in tongues and they all lay hands on each other and stuff. Please. Fine if you want that kind of stuff in your religious practice, but don't broadcast it on national TV and make the rest of us look like crazies. No wonder people think what they do about Christians. Sure- I am not perfect- never claimed to be. I am a pretty normal person. There is just this crazy view of what being a Christian is about. All they show on TV are the Bible-waving maniacs on the streets or the loons crying and bowing to some guy who slaps their forehead and declares them healed from their ailments. All of that is so far from what it is really all about. It is really a little sad. Sad because having that relationship with God is the only way to experience true joy and it is so rewarding and so fulfilling- and many people will miss out on it because of some show like the one we watched, or because of someone out there who claims to be a Christian and yet is judgemental and hateful to a person who needs love the most. Anyway- most of y'all know how I love to get on my soapbox. I'll get down now- just temporarily of course.

Girl Gettin' On My Nerves

As I mentioned, Emmaline has been just outrageously obnoxious lately- so I have put this picture out here as a little bit of revenge. She is too young to know that she should be embarassed, but I know it, so I feel better. I know I won't be getting any Mom Of The Year awards anytime soon..... This is definitely going in her senior year book, too- oh yeah. And maybe it will be on one of those cheesy slide shows people do at wedding rehearsals of the bride and groom when they were little. (Although, I don't see Emmaline as the cheesy slide show type. Girl is downright mean.) Just so you know, this was taken at Disney in the hotel bathroom. She was about to get a bath and didn't want to get her hair wet, hence the shower cap. But the "yo mamma" expression was just perfect in this one so I had to share it. I think I am just going to nickname her "gangsta". It would be very fitting. She and I had some major bonding time this past weekend. B and Annelise went to the lake to clean the boats and get them ready for the Summer- and Aunt Libby was supposed to come get Emmaline and take her overnight and so I made out a mile-long list of things that absolutely had to get done in the house. I couldn't believe I was actually going to be in the house for 24 hours or so all by myself!! Well, you know how they say if it sounds too good to be true it probably is? Well, it was. Aunt Libby had some tooth work done the day before she was to come get Emmaline and was in tremendous pain- so that plan went out the window. I felt bad for her, but I knew that nothing I needed to do would get done. I did not even get to go to the bathroom by myself! She acted like she was on crack the whole time. I got so ill with her on Friday , that I called another mom and asked if her daughter could come play with her and eat dinner here. She brought her daughter over and they had a ball. The next afternoon that family came and got Emmaline and took her to the park with them for a few hours. I decided to tackle the biggest project on the to-do list and clean out Emmaline's closet, drawers and armoire. It took about 6 hours, but it got done. I was so glad when Annelise came back home on Saturday! If I had to play one more round of Strawberry Shortcake, Bingo, or Chutes and Ladders I think I would have puked. Not to mention the thousand episodes of Little Bill and Peep I watched. But, I know the time will come before long when she doesn't want me around- so I will look back at these times and appreciate the things we got to do. I just hope she gets out of this crazy phase she is in soon. Girl acts like she is auditioning to be Satan's spawn or something. Oh, well- I am off to take a coconut lime verbena bubble bath. I earned it.

Reservations

Not talking about the good kind of reservations- talking about the bad kind. My friend the architect brought by the plans for our house last night with the upstairs and everything. She did everything we wanted her to cause she is cool like that. But..... already several unexpected costs have come up with this house- where the lot is concerned. We paid way too much for the lot(s). We know that. And before we bought the lots, everything pointed to "go" to buy them. Since then, nothing has gone right and all these extra costs for all kinds of stuff have just come out of nowhere. Now, we have not paid for this extra stuff, yet- but we will have to when we start building. This is supposed to be our forever house- so I have been very stressed about how much this is all going to end up costing us when it is all said and done. Not to mention that we have found that we are going to have to build a new lakehouse before next year also. I don't want to be bound to a house financially. It wouldn't be so bad if we didn't have so much money in the lots. Part of me really wants to look around a little bit more to make sure there is not something a little cheaper and maybe bigger to build this thing on. Our lot is an acre (because we bought 2 half acre lots) which is big for a subdivision- but our house just about dwarfs it anyway. This is a house that should be on a couple of acres at the least. It is very southern and has these beautiful porches and I just want to make sure we do the right thing. But, I don't know that we could find a couple/few acres to put it on that would not cost a fortune, either. Brian is not happy with me right now, but I have to make sure and I have to be comfortable with all of this and he understands that. We are both very frustrated. Such a big decision. I would not mind looking a little more in my "hometown" because land is so much cheaper there than it is where we are. I don't know. Maybe I am just getting cold feet because it is getting closer to being ready to build and I am freaking out at the last minute. I know my friends reading this are just shaking their heads and laughing at me right now! But Brian said last night that we are not in a hurry and we can stand being in the "Brady Bunch Special" a little longer! I'm glad he is so patient with me and my craziness. Anyway- pray for me and for him that we will just know for sure what to do. The lots we bought are in a very desireable area and they would sell for at least what we paid for them-- so I am not worried, I just want to do the best thing for us. I did not expect so much stress with this- I thought this was all going to be fun and easy. Life just doesn't go the way you plan sometimes, eh? My mom told me last night to just "step back and punt" and take a breather for a little while. That sounds good to me. She's smart like that sometimes. So, I am going to step back and not think about it for a few days. I am comfortable knowing that God is in control. I know that He will show us what we should do if we just stay still and listen for a moment. That is harder than it sounds to someone like me who has a hard time giving up control, though! If this is all I have to worry about I know my life is pretty good- but I do hope we can resolve this before too long......

Sunday Weigh In

Well- according to the scales, I have lost 3.4 pounds so far. I was very excited until B got on the scales and he has lost 5 pounds!! Now, he admits that it is much easier for men to drop pounds than women, but I made the bet so it sticks.... The infuriating part is that he has been eating whatever he wants and he still loses weight! Of course, he did spend the week-end at the lake cleaning both of the boats and that was a huge work-out. All I can do is try! Today I go back to the gym for my every-other-day-workout. He may be winning right now, but I have more endurance. I expect he is going to get tired of not eating good stuff and he is going to fold. I am baking some chocolate chip cookies this afternoon just for him...... Oh yes, to win I must play dirty.

Grouchy Grouch

I admit, I have been so ill the past few days. Between the dieting and people just getting on my nerves in general- I should probably be put away in isolation for my own good. But, alas, there is no time for solitary confinement. So, I have been trying my best to keep my temper under wraps for the past few days. It started Tuesday night at soccer. Annelise scored 2 goals and Emmaline got soooo close twice. She wants to score so badly- I really hope she gets at least one goal before the season is over. I put my chair at the end of the field near the goal, because I like to see all the action up close and also because I was feeling particularly anti-social. About 10 minutes after the game started, these obnoxious yuppies came and put their chairs right in front of me- I could not see a thing. Then they let their 4 year-old son run around like crazy, pushing his chair onto me and kicking red dirt and gravel dust all over everyone. I thought I was going to lose it. I got up, took my chair about 10 feet down the way and slammed it down on the ground. If looks could kill- these people would have toe tags..... Then the men began talking really loudly about how they love to play the golf course at this exclusive uppity neighborhood in town. I could have puked. I just cannot stand yuppies. Yes, I am married to a successful doctor, and we have been very blessed financially- but I have never forgotten where I came from and I never will. I don't want people to see that about me in public. Anyway- I did notice that they all had Gamecock emblems on their chairs, so that explained some of their behavior. (Hah-hah...) Since then I have just been wound tighter than a girdle on a Baptist preacher's wife at an all you can eat pancake breakfast. Emmaline has this new thing where we tell her to do something and she just says "No." This is the child who used to cry if we looked at her wrong and now she acts like she's not scared of the devil. Hopefully it's just a phase. I also have this uncomfortable feeling and I don't know why, or where it is coming from. I think it is just because I have been so agitated. Anyway- I'm going to go take a bottle of Pamprin and pray for a Mary Poppins complex.

Happy Late Mother's Day....

Hope all the moms and dads had a wonderful mother's day! I heard a pastor say that no other person will ever do for you as much as your mother has done for you in your lifetime. True. It is a big job and a huge responsibility. I had a really good day Sunday. Usually Mother's Day is terrible at our house. Brian's mother passed away suddenly when he was 11 years old and he still has a hard time with it. So, normally he gets really agitated and sulks around and just acts blah all day on Mother's Day. But this year he made an extra effort to make it a great day for me and I really appreciated it. (He was a little snappy the night before, but he did get over that....) I got breakfast in bed and everything. Sure the girls ate half of it in the bed with me, but it was nice. (Especially the strawberries and bananas with chocolate dip!) We went to Sunday School and then went to my sister's house to eat lunch. That night we cooked dinner for Aunt Libby since her birthday was the day before and she is also like a mother to Brian, so we got her a little something for mom's day, too. Emmaline's class did "interviews" about their moms and Emmaline stated that I am " 11 feet tall and weigh 40 pounds." So funny how they see things! She said that my favorite TV show was "Go Tigers"- Clemson football for anyone wondering. She was correct on that one. It was very cute to see what she thought about me.
On another note- Brian and I leave for our cruise with some friends of ours in 32 days. We started a little bet with each other about who can lose 10 pounds first. I won't say what the winner gets, but we each chose something great for ourselves.... I won't list my starting weight, either- because I don't need to go spreading that kind of info around.... I will update on the competition as time goes by- I'm guessing I need to weigh in once a week. I have got to win this, I just cannot let Brian win! I got my starting weight on Sunday, so I will update on Sundays on my progress. I love to eat and I especially love to eat sweets- so this is going to be pure torture. We will see how it goes. Our friends also have the same bet with each other, so she and I have been encouraging and strategizing together. I did go to the gym yesterday and worked out and also ran a couple miles on the eliptical- I can barely move today. I plan to go back tommorrow so I can keep on schedule with that. I would love any tips anyone has for getting this weight off and resisting cravings!! My weakness is ice cream and I have a freezer full right now- for the girls, of course.....

Scenes From Disney

The girls on a cool carriage outside the entrance of the Grand Floridian Hotel.

A and E in the butterfly garden at Epcot- temporary exhibit.

Elephant on the Kilamanjaro Safari- no fences except for a few electric ones!

View of the lake from our personal balcony. (Fireworks on the lake every night!)

Blurry- A and E at Coral Reef restaurant in Epcot- aquarium about 3 million gallons- no lie. Scuba divers, sea turtles, sharks and stingrays all swam up to the table.

Bus ride to the hotel after a long and fun day!!

Took a pic of the TV picture of Brian, Emmaline and Annelise on the Tower of Terror during a drop. Emmaline never screamed, just held on to her Daddy and her eyes got really big a few times !

B, A and E in front of the Tower of Terror- the windows at the top middle open and that is where you drop from!

Emmaline with Jo Jo's Circus characters.

A and E with Minnie at Liberty Tree Tavern

In front of Cinderella's castle- at night lights shine on it and change colors.

The "Tree of Life"- Animal Kingdom- has over 2000 animals hand-carved into it.

Lobby of Grand Floridian- had 3 of those stained glass domes in it (one is at the top of the picture ) and a live band would play from the balcony every night. Absolutely beautiful.

The girls got their faces painted like cats and hid in the ferns- very cute!

With Goofy at the Liberty Tree Tavern restaurant in Magic Kingdom.

Outside of the main hotel from the back (Grand Floridian). Ours was right beside it and looked like a smaller version of it.

The girls in front of one of the many rose gardens at the Grand Floridian hotel. There were almost always baby bunnies with their mother eating in the grass near the roses.

*It was really difficult to pick out the ones to show- there were so many! The girls weren't quite as interested in meeting the characters this time since they met them all last time they were there. They were more about the rides. So- not a lot of character pictures, but they still loved spotting all of them in the parks and parades. We are already planning our next trip- the girls have 3 days off in February next year and we may go that week because it will be cheaper in the slower seasons anyway! We will be Disney pros before we know it!!

Take It Or Leave It- Disney Advice

So, after more than a few trips to Mickey's house, I feel like I should share what I have learned to maybe help someone else. I went to Disney several times as a child, then as a teen and an adult. It is very different when you have kids. (The 30 minute waits in line before kids are nothing- after kids it feels like 2 hours. ) So, I have compiled a not-so-organized list of thoughts I will share and also references I recommend for those who are thinking of going with children in tow. A lot of this is just my opinion- someone may disagree with me on some things, and that's ok too. This is just speaking from my experience. Here goes...
1.) Here are 2 reads that I strongly recommend for anyone to read at least a few months before you go. One is "Walt Disney World With Kids, 2007" (or 2008 if they have it). The author is Kim Wright Wiley and it also includes advice and info for SeaWorld and Universal Orlando. The other reference I would suggest is the website http://www.tourguidemike.com/ . He was a professional tour guide for Disney World for many years and knows all the secrets and best times and ways to do things. It costs $18.00 to get into the site, but considering a personal tour guide costs $150.00 per hour at Disney, the 18 bucks is well worth it. You can print out whatever you want and go back to it as many times as you want. It even gives you how busy each week is during the year so you can plan to go during a slower time. We used his system and it really made a difference in our trip. It was much less stressful.
2.) Do not go in the Summer if you can help it, unless you are extremely cold natured and love the heat and humidity (and crowds). I was born and raised in the South, but even I was miserable at times and it is only Spring.... So many kids were walking around burnt. (Not to mention parents!) Also do not go on or around any holiday. It may seem like a fun idea to do a holiday at Disney- but trust me, it is so crowded and the waits for the rides at all of the parks are just ridiculous.
3.) Any character breakfast, lunch or dinners that you want your child to experience should be booked several months before your scheduled trip. When we went 2 years ago, we tried to book them 3 months in advance and many were already full. If you have daughters, the dinner at 1900 Park Fair in the Grand Floridian Hotel and also lunch at Akershus in the Norway section at Epcot are both good choices to see the princesses. For boys, I don't know- but the book and tour guide Mike's website will let you know who you will see at each place. These dinners are more expensive than regular places, so be prepared.....
4.) Do the basic dining plan for each member of your family. It will seem like a lot until you see how much the food there costs! Also- some places take 2 of the meals on your plans to eat dinner there- so the nicer places and places with characters, I would suggest lunch at those, because it will only use one meal. We did the deluxe dining plan- it was way too much food and next time we will do the basic. Stay at a place that has continental breakfasts or pack a couple boxes of pop-tarts/muffins. You can take food and snacks into the parks. I would suggest juice boxes if they aren't too much for you to carry- the drinks are outrageous.
5.) Moms- get one of those backpack-looking purses that you don't have to carry with just a shoulder. I got a brown one at Target and a black Nine West one at Kohl's- they are so much better because they do not get in the way and they hold a lot. (I'm not talkin' about the little tiny ones- I mean the bigger ones.) This is what you definitely need to pack in that for the parks: diaper wipes in a travel case or a ziplock (hands get nasty), sanitizing gel, sunscreen, sunglasses, park maps, small snacks. And whatever else you may want. Try to keep your kids from putting their hands all over the handrails at the parks- I stayed on my girls like a warden- there were kids picking noses and wiping spit and then playing on the rails. I shudder to think what may have been on them....
6.) If you can, stay at one of the Disney hotels that the monorail goes right to. It is sooo convenient. Those include: Grand Floridian, The Contemporary, The Polynesian. Contemporary seems to be the best price- you won't be in your room long anyway. If you want to save some bucks and also get continental breakfasts included in the deal, we have stayed in the off-site hotels, like Double Tree and Marriot and they were very nice and included breakfast and shuttle transportation to all the parks (and a good bit cheaper.) You have to take a bus to Animal Kingdom and MGM anyway- so you may choose the off-site option.
7.) I personally would not recommend taking your child until they are at least 44 inches tall. That is the height requirement for a lot of the faster rides. Emmaline is 45 inches and the only one she couldn't do was the Aerosmith Rock-N-Rollercoaster. Disney is not cheap- and we had so much more fun this time with Emmaline being able to ride stuff. I felt we got more bang for our buck this time. Your choice- just my opinion!
8.) Scary rides warning: Tower of Terror (you freefall 12 stories twice.) My 2 girls loved that ride, but I only did it once. I know I am a chicken. At Animal Kingdom in Dino-Land, there is a roller coaster with Dinosaurs in it. It terrified me. I knew they weren't real, but it was very scary. A lot of kids came off of it crying and wouldn't ride another coaster after that! Mt. Everest roller coaster at Animal Kingdom. My 2 loved it, but there is a giant Yedi (Yeti?) inside of it at the end that swoops his arm down and growls and tries to swipe you. It also goes backwards really fast, so that may be scary for some kids. We all loved it, though. Space Mountain- rough ride and in the totally pitch dark. Everyone sits single file, so I was very concerned that Emmaline would freak out and start trying to get out of her seat. I made Brian sit behind her and reach over and put his hands on her shoulders to make sure she didn't get out...Of course, she was fine, but you never know with her. We all loved it and I loved it as a child, but some kids get freaked out about the dark issue. Then there is the Stitch (from Lilo and Stitch) adventure at Magic Kingdom in Tommorrowland. It terrified Annelise- who is not scared of anything. Many kids left that screaming and crying. Just a warning. Mission Space at Epcot- you feel a little sick after it and it is not that fun.... I think that is it for the really scary ones.
9.)Things to get the fast pass for : the fast pass will allow you to get in a separate, much faster line than the normal one and it should be utilized as much as possible! You use your park pass to get it. The places to get them will be at each specific ride. These are the ones with the most wait time that are worth using your fast passes for (you can only get so many fast passes per couple of hours): Soarin' at Epcot - awesome ride and the kids absolutely loved it. It has become Disney's most popular ride. The normal wait is about 40-60 minutes, but with a fast pass it will only be 5-15 minutes. Not scary- very relaxing for the parents! Aerosmith rockin rollercoaster at MGM- if your kids are tall enough (48 inches I think) it is so much fun and it was Annelise's favorite. Normal wait time without a fast pass is 30-50 minutes. Also Tower of Terror at MGM- it is right next to the Aerosmith coaster and if your kids love a thrill and are not easily scared, it is fun. At Magic Kingdom, the fast pass is necessary for Dumbo (for the little ones), Peter Pans Flight, and Space Mountain. In Animal Kingdom, you will want one for the Kilamanjaro Safari and also Mt. Everest coaster. At MGM the Arial (Little Mermaid) show is also very good. Sometimes you need to get the fast pass and sometimes there is not much of a wait, but is worth seeing. Also at MGM- Emmaline and Annelise both loved the Star Wars Star Tours- not very scary and pretty neat. Not a bad wait usually. At Epcot, ride the Nemo ride early in the day before a lot of the younger kids get there- it can get crowded. My advice in concurrence with tour guide Mike is to get to the parks a few minutes before they open at 9 am and go straight to the busy rides, ride them and immediately get a fast pass to ride it again later if the kids like it. The fast pass usually allows you to come back about 1-2 hours after you get it to ride that certain ride. Use them and use them often! I also highly recommend Mickey's Philharmagic 3-D show at Magic Kingdom in Fantasyland. The girls loved it tremendously and we watched it several times. It is much better than the other 3-D shows there.
10.) Make a schedule for your days before you go. Do not plan to go to Magic Kingdom on a Saturday or Sunday. (Except for the evening parade- it is cool.) Those days are when a lot of locals or people just getting there choose to go and it is very crowded. Go to Epcot and MGM on the week-end days. Animal Kingdom wasn't too bad, but it closes at 5 pm some days, so watch for that.
11.) Last tip- schedule all of your sit-down dinners beforehand and make reservations before leaving. Make sure they coincide with the actual park you will plan to be in that day anyway so you don't have to catch a bus or monorail to leave the park you are in. Good place for a less expensive character dinner is Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom (Goofy, Minnie, Chip, Dale and Pluto are there) and 2 great places for lunch that the kids loved are Sci-Fi Diner in MGM and also the Coral Reef in Epcot- much cheaper at lunch. At the Coral Reef, when you get there, ask for a table next to the aquarium. Most of the time you will get it. You will need reservations for almost all the sit down places. Try to eat lunch and dinner early, before the crowds get in. If you and your spouse are lucky enough to have help with the kids and want a romantic, good dinner alone, I would recommend Narcoosee's at the Grand Floridian. The food was outstanding and the atmosphere was wonderful. It is right on one of the lakes.
I think that is it. Mindboggling, huh? Sorry so much stuff, just trying to help someone else out here! Seriously, I know the experience is different for everyone, so this may not apply to you. I just hope if you go, you have fun! (PS- sorry for any typos or errors in spelling, I was in a hurry, so be forgiving as you read!!) Hope to have some pics on here tommorrow.
*Oops- one more tip- the t-shirts and toys and stuff are really expensive at the shops in the parks. I got the girls some beautiful Cinderella t-shirts at K-Mart before we went and surprised them with them at the park. K-Mart and Wal-Mart both carry Disney lines. You can also go to www.disneyoutlet.com and they have a lot of clearance clothing and toys also.

We're Back...Finally

There are 2 things that going to Disney always reminds me of. One is the simple, yet awesome amazement and wonder of a child. The other is how few people in the world have any manners or the sense God gave a gnat-seriously.( Speaking of the first one- Emmaline was especially fun to watch during the 3-D shows- she would reach out for everything and try to grab at it! And of course, they believed that every character they saw was real and that was so great!) At least we went during a time when it is not very crowded= which was wonderful and so worth the girls missing a few days of school. Tommorrow I am going to write a "Disney Advice" post- we've been so many times now I feel like I have learned a lot that I can share to help someone else who is planning to go. And whenever Brian gets the pics on the computer I will post some of those. Today I'll just give a brief rundown of the events of our trip. We got to the Grand Floridian by 11 a.m.. We weren't supposed to check in until 3 pm- but they have a service where you can put your bags in a locked area and go on to the parks- so we were going to do that. However, when we got to the front desk, the guy said "We're celebrating the Year of A Million Dreams, and your family was just given a complimentary upgrade to concierge level!" I didn't know what that meant, but I knew it was good because apparantly it at least meant we could go ahead and go to our room early. Well- I found out that it meant that we got to stay in this 200 or so room cottage called the Sugar Loaf - which you could not even enter without a special thingy on your card key. The room was great- we had a balcony that overlooked the lake and everything was just really nice. Concierge level also included a huge snack buffet in the morning, afternoon and evenings, along with a full bar with wine, beer and champagne and also fruit and cheeses and dips from 6-8 pm and then cordials (and I mean the expensive stuff) and desserts from 8-10 pm. There was also a fridge full of all sorts of sodas and juices and milk that could be accessed 24/7. All of that of course at no extra charge. I liked concierge level. I'm not a big drinker, but I can only imagine how much some of the people there saved just in drinks! We checked in and went to Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day and had a great time. The next day, Saturday, we went to Animal Kingdom. We loved it there last time and decided to go spend a whole day there this time. We were having a great time, except for the fact that it was really hot and humid (it was already 90 degrees there every day...) . Then, at about noon, Brian starts saying he doesn't feel good. By noon-thirty, he is vomiting and decides he has the tummy bug. (GREAT!! Paranoia set in because we all shared an icee the night before...) We had to catch the bus back to our hotel- which also stops at 2 other hotels before it gets to ours. Poor B- some man got on the bus at the first stop and the man smelled like cheap cologne and hot dogs and I thought Brian was going to lose it.... Of course it didn't help that the man sat right behind B. We got back to the hotel and B spent the next 18 hours in bed- except for when he was hurling. I took the girls to the pool- which was right in front of our hotel- because they had been dying to go. We did that for a couple hours and then we had to go get showered because we had dinner scheduled at Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom, and it was a character dinner that I knew the girls would love. The dinner was great- but being in Magic Kingdom on a Saturday afternoon by myself with 2 kids was terrifying. It was absolutely packed. We got to ride a few things but for the most part it was really busy. Upon leaving, the Evening Parade began and after finally finding a spot where they could see something, we watched that and it was very cool- all the floats were lit up and the characters were, too. I held Emmaline on my shoulders and after doing that with a 40 lb child in 90 degree weather for 45 minutes, I was ready to faint. We went back and crashed. By Sunday, B was feeling much better and we spent that day at MGM. Had a really good time. Emmaline LOVED the Star Wars Star Tours ride- we must have done that about 10 times that day. She also rode Tower of Terror twice and Annelise rode the Aerosmith Rockin' Roller Coaster about 6 times. (Emmaline was too short for that one- it was the only one she couldn't get on!) The Aerosmith coaster became our favorite fast ride- it is really cool and I would recommend the fast pass for it- which I will talk about more tommorrow. We watched Spectra Magic there at 9 pm and it was also very neat. On Monday, we went to Epcot and since the girls are too young for all of the "educational" aspects of Epcot- it only took us until about 3 pm to do everything there. We went right off the bat and got fast passes for the ride Soarin' and it was awesome. We got more passes after we got off so we could do it again before we left. We ate at the Coral Reef in Epcot for lunch and got a table right next to the huge aquarium tank and the girls loved it there- sea turtles and sharks and scuba divers were all swimming right by our table while we ate. I had some wonderful Mahi-Mahi there, also. Upon leaving, we decided to go finish Animal Kingdom and we were able to do the Safari and also ride the Mount Everest roller coaster 3 times. (I could not believe Emmaline rode that at all- there is a huge Yeti that tries to reach for you at the end.....) We did go on a dinosaur roller coaster that was absolutely terrifying- it even scared me- I would not recommend it for little kids. We went back, ate dinner at the hotel restaurant, and packed up our things for the departure the next day. We spent Tuesday morning at Magic Kingdom- riding all of the girls favorite rides there- they both loved Space Mountain, so we rode it 3 times that morning. We let them pick out their "prize"/ souvenir/ toy before we left, ate lunch at the hotel and then went to the airport to go home. The plane rides all went smoothly until we got to Charlotte- where our 8:25 flight got delayed until 9 pm- then ultimately got cancelled. We could not get another flight out until 10:30- so we had to wait a total of 4 hours at that airport to get on a 20 minute plane ride home. We didn't walk in the front door of our house until almost midnight- so the girls did miss another day of school today. Today's to-do list consists of laundry and just unpacking various things. (At least the house is pretty clean! )Tonight we will go to church and eat there- so I don't have to worry about going to the grocery store. The Disney trip was definitely a great time for us all. It is such a good bonding experience for a parent and their child(ren). We spent every waking moment with them and they just loved being with us. I even saw a lot of parents there with their teenagers just having a blast and enjoying being together. Now it's back to real life and that's okay- I am ready to be back! Tommorrow I will post some advice for anyone who is planning to go to Disney anytime in the future. You can take it or leave it. It is mostly just stuff that I wish someone had told us before we went the first time with our kids!! Sorry for the long post- I had a lot of catching up to do!

MIckey, Here We Come!

We're off!! Be back Tuesday!! (Yes, the girls were asleep by 6:30 pm last night!!)

9 is Fine!

Happy Anniversary to us! Wow, I cannot believe I have been married for 9 years. There was a time when I didn't even think I would ever get married- Iwas about 22 years old- had just ended a 4-year relationship and was about to move to Charleston. That's when God put Brian in my path. We met at the hospital and ended up finally speaking to each other through my roommate- who was also a nurse there. I broke my policy of not dating physicians and the rest is history.... Now 9 years and 2 beautiful little girls later we are still going strong! There have been many ups and downs- we had an especially rough spot at the beginning of this year. I think at our stage in the game, we get so busy with work and trying to raise the children that we neglect our marriages and one day we look at each other and wonder "Who is this person?" I think marriage is like a video game. Each level is a little more difficult than the last, but if you can get through it, the reward is great. (I hear that it gets a lot better when the kids are grown. ) I have figured out that the mistake I made is that I put myself and my needs and wants ahead of Brian's. True love means putting the other person first and when you do that it is so fulfilling to your marriage. I also was not aware that the physical attraction would fade like it has. Don't get me wrong- I still find my husband very attractive- but my heart doesn't always flitter when he walks in the room or anything anymore. I did find that the relationship just becomes about so much more than that- it becomes deeper and more about the fact that this person is truly your other half. So many people make the mistake of giving up on marriage because the physical aspects aren't as intense as they were before. Then they get into a cycle of trying to find that with person after person and are never happy or fufilled because that always fades after a while and they completely miss the bigger picture of what marriage can be and should be about. I am so proud of all that God has accomplished through us. I picture myself and Brian in rocking chairs on a porch one day watching our grandkids play in the yard and thinking about everything we have been through together and all of the good times we have had. Benjamin Franklin once said "Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards." He was a wise man. This morning we exchanged cards and of course, the Disney trip is our gift for each other. I couldn't imagine having spent the past nine years with anyone else and I am looking forward to all that the future holds for us. I feel so lucky to have a husband who loves me like he does and thinks I am still beautiful- even with the "after-babies-body" and everything. Here's to year 10!