Disney World: Tips I Followed, Tips I Didn't Follow...But Should Have, and Tips I Learned On My Own

We, as a family, have completed our first trip to Disney World!  Greg's parents were nice enough to take us and our kids.  Our kid's ages are 6, 3, and 4 months so we had a wide range of needs.  I spent some time reading up on what to do, and what not to do but it seems like the info was endless.  Of course, everyone's Disney experience will be different, but here are some things that I learned:

TIPS I FOLLOWED:
1.  Personal water bottle fans and Froggy Togg Towels:  Best inventions ever, especially in the summer months.  The water bottle fans at Disney were almost $20, so it was great that they were pre-purchased.  My mom got me some Froggy Togg towels for my birthday.  I'd never heard of them before, but they claimed "Just Get Me Wet, And I'll Keep You Cool".  I was worried they wouldn't work, but they did!  This was great for our 4 month old.  I would lay the towel over his lower half and it would block the sun and keep him cool.

Mallory with Princess Jasmine

2.  Eating with a princess/Doing Jedi Training:  Mallory had breakfast will all the princesses while Nolan fought Darth Vader.  I bet they were super pricey, but SO worth it!  Mallory just turned 3 and she adores the princesses, and they were all in the same room!  I bet she remembers it for a while.  Nolan (just turned 6) did the Jedi Training.  We had to block off a major part of the day for Nolan, but it was definitely well worth it, he says it was one of his favorite things.
3.  Not pushing the kids:  You want to do everything/see everything, but there's a certain point to call it quits.  Ours was around 1 pm.  We would hit the parks early, leave around 1 pm or 2 pm and go back to the hotel to recharge or swim.  This worked well for us and our young kids.
4.  Patience!:  One friend said I needed the patience of a saint...he was almost right.  There's A LOT of stuff going on: strollers, wheelchairs, adult scooters, grouchy parents, grouchy adults, 90 degree weather, rainy weather...I could go on forever.  My motto was as long as we came back alive it was a good trip.  We all came back alive, so it was a good trip!  Seriously though, take a deep breath and put things in to perspective for you and your kids.  If you've walked all around the park in 90 degree heat with no lunch break, there will be a meltdown soon (and I wouldn't blame them).  If your tired, your kids are tired.  If your grouchy standing in line, your kids will be grouchy standing in line.  Do what works for you and your family.  A lousy vacation can happen very quickly with bad attitudes.

Mallory with Cinderella

5.  Gate Check your stroller:  I kept on reading about this "gate check" thing while flying with strollers.  I figured it out on our first flight.  You go through the whole airport with your stroller and carrier and even through the long tube to the airplane, and then you leave it right outside the airplane door.  It will be the last thing they put with the bags, and the first thing they take out.  When you get out at your destination, your stroller will be right outside of the plane waiting for you!  Just make sure to ask for a Gate Claim ticket!
WARNING:  Our stroller and carrier took a beating in our Atlanta layover going to, and coming back.  It's not like a spent a million dollars on the thing, but I was a little peeved when the whole mesh bag underneath was ripped to shreds.
TIPS I SHOULD HAVE FOLLOWED...BUT DIDN'T
1.  "Comfy" shoes-  I kept hearing about this comfy shoe tip.  I thought my Reef sandals did qualify as comfy shoes, but I was wrong.  You will be doing A LOT of walking.  I switched over to my running shoes on the third day, and my leg and back pain went away.  My 3 year old definitely showed me up though.  She wore her little glass slippers (plastic with 1/2" heel) and wore those things all around the park.  She was tougher than me.
2.  Fast Passes-  This something that you will figure out on your own.  It confused me reading about it, but after we actually did it, I understood.  For example:  The Pirates of the Caribbean line is super long (an hour wait).  You swipe your card and get your ticket with a time on it, such as 1:00-2:00.  You come back in that time frame and you go to the "Fast Pass" line.  You get on the ride a few minutes later, a fraction of the time than just standing in line.  We didn't use Fast Passes until AFTER we waited in the Space Mountain line for over an hour and watched all the Fast Pass people zip past us.  I DID give them the evil eye, but it was so dark in there they probably didn't notice. :)
3.  Ponchos and rain gear-  It rains a lot in Florida.  We were in Downtown Disney and got rained on for almost 2 hours.  Soaking wet, we trudged back to our hotel wishing that we had brought Ponchos from home because I refused to buy the expensive ones at the park.
4.  Stay hydrated...with water!:  I guzzled a lot of liquid, and it wasn't water.  I chose Coke Zero most of the time.  With all the heat, I knew I should have been drinking water, but I didn't.  Coke Zero didn't satisfy me like I knew water would.  Lesson learned.
TIPS I FOUND OUT ON MY OWN:

Nolan training as a Jedi

1.  Disney has this bus system around all of the parks and to all the resorts.  Plus side: we didn't have to rent a car.  Downside:  waiting for buses, length of bus ride, and crowded buses.  It was especially hard waiting for a bus for 20+ minutes when your kids are exhausted and asleep on you.  It was also hard carrying on and off the stroller and carrier on the bus.  But if I did it all again, I would still ride the bus system...it definitely beat the $15 a day parking cost.
2.  Your child carrier:  My son was not 4 months yet when we went, so a carrier (car seat) was necessary for him.  We weren't allowed to use it on the plane, and we weren't allowed to use it on any of the buses (safety issues).  So, we actually lugged it around most of the time.  If he had been a little older and able to sit in a stroller without the car seat, I most likely would have left it at home.  One last thing to drag around.
3.  Penny Squishing Machines:  Great souvenirs for little cost.  Kids had a great time finding them around the park and then turning the handle to squish the penny.  Only cost $.51 each, which is a steal at Disney!
4.  Pick a hotel with a nice pool:  It was the highlight for the kids...and me.  Nothing better to end a long day at Disney than a swim at a really nice pool.  It even had a whole kid section where the water was only a foot deep and I could let my 3 year old splash around without a life vest on.
5.  Carry ALL your formula on the plane with you:  My 4 month old only drinks formula, so I knew I would have to bring a large container with us to get us through the week.  I also purchased a formula holder that holds enough formula for 3 bottles.  I couldn't decide which one to take on the plane.  Would they make me throw away the formula in the smaller carrying container because it wasn't sealed.  Would 3 bottles last him? I decided to take both in my carry-on bag.  I made sure that the big container was still sealed in case a security person questioned its validity.  No one questioned anything.  The only thing that got tested was some water that I had already put in to a bottle for my son for later use.  I'm so glad I packed both in my carry-on.  Our resort had this great thing where they will bring the luggage to your room straight from the airport so you don't have to go pick it up from baggage claim.  What they don't tell you in the brochure is that it won't get to your room until 4-5 hours AFTER you checked in.  I would have had one mad baby on my hands if I didn't have any formula.  But I did, so he was happy.

Casey just hanging out :)

All in all, I don't think I could have asked for a better trip.  Very happy with the outcome.  The kids are already talking about going again, even though that next trip is years away.

Have fun on your adventures with your kids, make them happy moments they will remember for a lifetime!!

Cupcakes in a Jar

 Wow...it's been a while.  Many things have kept me from posting, the two top being a newborn (now 7 weeks old) and a broken laptop which made it impossible to download pictures from my camera.  I thought I would start blogging again with something fun!  Mallory turned 3 last month and we went with a Hello Kitty theme.  I've seen the "Cake in a Jar" post on Pinterest multiple times and thought it was a great idea.  I told my husband, and he brought up a good point.  If you made the cake in the jar, the icing will only be on top.  Well, after you eat the top layer of cake and icing, you'd have a lot of cake left over.  He suggest layers of icing and cake to make a better ratio.  Great idea!  I toyed with make a 9x13 sheet cake and then cutting out circles, or making cupcakes.  I went with the cupcakes, which were the perfect size for the small mason jars.

This is a super easy project, here's a step-by-step
1.  Buy mason jars
2.  Choose a cake.  I went with a vanilla box cake, divided the batter in two and dyed the other half pink.  Sticking with the Hello Kitty theme, I only used pink and white cake, but you could do more.
3.  I used a small muffin tin (12) and sprayed with Pam.  I filled the cupcake tins half way.
4.  While letting your cupcakes cool, make an icing.  I used butter cream icing and put in to a piping bag.
5.  Now start layering!  I did a white cupcake, a squirt of butter cream, a layer of sprinkles (repeat).

Layer the cupcakes with icing

 6.  I got two cupcakes and two layers of icing.  Make sure to stop at the top of the jar since you still have to put the lid on.

Add sprinkles to the top and you are done!

End product with labels on top, ribbon tied in a cute bow and fork attached for easy eating :)

7.  Tie on fork and make labels if desired.

I ended up taping the forks on to the jars since the ribbon didn't hold them on tightly.  I also found large sheets of blank sticker paper at a local office store and make my own "labels".

Two reasons why these were great:
1.  I don't say this a lot, but my husband was right.  It was a great ratio of icing to cake.
2.  They are "On the Go"  If your party runs short on time or kids start getting grumpy, give your guests this and see them on their way.  I used them as party favors, and you can re-use the glass!

Enjoy!

All I Want for Christmas Is...

I have turned into that woman that asks for appliances for holidays.  Yes, I know, very sad.  An oven, stovetop, a new mixer paddle, even a new "Welcome" door mat topped my list this year.  Was there anything on the list only for me though?  No, not really.  This annoyed my husband greatly.

One reason it annoyed him was that it made it very hard to shop for me.  He kept on asking, "What do you want for YOU?  Not for the house, not for the benefit of others, but something selfish that only you will find enjoyment in."  Well, here are some hurdles I'm running in to making this "selfish" list:

1.  I am pregnant.  Not just a little pregnant, but big round belly, swollen feet pregnant.  So there is no point in clothes shopping until the baby is born, and quite a few months after.  Even shoes are iffy because of swollen feet and feet becoming bigger during pregnancy.

2.  I love home improvements.  I love new curtains, rugs, couches.  I could spend hours at a furniture store dreaming up my perfect sectional or kitchen table.  I have fantasized about new tile in the bathroom, re-finishing our hardwood floors, and have already picked out new countertops for our kitchen, even though we have no plans in replacing them soon.  The problem with this one is that these are "house" things, not "me" things.  Everyone would use these, and eventually our two children (almost three children) will destroy them. Why buy a really nice couch/rug/kitchen table when there will be permanent marker/grape juice/food spilled and staining our expensive things?  I guess practicality steps in here and tells me to hold off on these purchases until the children move out and only visit on holidays.

3.  What are my hobbies??  I'm having a hard time pinning them down.  They don't include massages or days at the spa, which would be very convenient for Greg.  I've always been a little jealous that Greg has had a string of hobbies that he has really enjoyed.

**Side Story: He had a motorcycle, that he could only ride...let me rephrase...a motorcycle that he WOULD ONLY ride (not too fond of riding), he has a Jeep that he is fixing up, he loves to read endlessly, and now his new hobby is RC Helicopters.  It started out with a cheap helicopter last Christmas from the mall, and his collection has slowly grown to cover some of our bookshelves with increasingly expensive helicopters.  Do I mind?  No way.  It's something that he enjoys, and he pays for them with money that he has saved or bonuses.  He has even included Nolan in this hobby.  I'll admit it's pretty darn cute to watch a father and son flying helicopters in the backyard.

Back to my hobbies:  I love to bake, but Lord knows if I ate everything I baked, I would weigh 800 lbs.  So, most of these baked goods leave my house for other people's kitchens to enjoy.  I love to crochet, but it's no fun to just make things for yourself.  Hats, blankets, and stuffed animals leave my house to go to other children or friends.  I love to read, but lack of time and accidentally falling asleep at 8 pm has put a hindrance on that hobby.

So, Greg was left to the task of being creative and getting me things that I didn't even know I wanted.  I think he did a fairly good job.
1.  Keyless Remote Entry for my car.  I have missed having a clicker for my car for almost a year now.  It's something that you don't really think about until you don't have it at your fingertips.  It will make getting all the kids into the car much easier and manageable.
2.  Hot Booties:  Yes, you read that correctly.  The kids actually picked this out for me (with some help from Greg).  They are house shoes that you warm up in the microwave and they stay hot on your cold feet.  I have perpetually cold feet, and Greg would never be caught in them, so this is only for me.

3.  Nail polish.  This one might sound silly, but I have been on the hunt for nail polish that won't come off after doing dishes one time, or folding laundry.  Sadly, $2 nail polish from Target never stayed on more than 30 minutes before chipping and peeling.  Greg picked up the quest for me and went to Ulta and got me some pretty cool nail polish with basecoat and topcoat included.  It's held up pretty well and I can say that it will last through washing dishes and laundry.  (Butter London if you are wondering).

I'm hoping that you got some "YOU" items this holiday season that you don't have to share and wishing you a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  

BEST Anniversary Present EVER!

7 years
2.5 children (our third child will be born in March)
2 apartments
2 houses
2 mission trips to Germany
Good times outweighing the bad times

That's what has been going on for the past seven years in my marriage.  This is actually just the tip of the iceberg, but as you know, things get blurry the more kids you have and the longer you've been together. 

For the past six anniversaries we have tried to get thoughtful gifts for each other, but sometimes it's hard to think of something very thoughtful that has wrapped up your year in marriage.  But this year Greg out-did himself.  I, on the other hand could have probably done better; but we'll get to that later. 

His idea for my gift actually came to him 6 months ago while in Germany.  While on a mission trip there, we visited the city of Koln.  In the city there is a bridge that crosses the Rhein River.  All over the fence of part of the bridge were locks.  They explained that you take a lock, get it engraved with your significant other/spouse/etc., lock it on the bridge and then throw the key in to the Rhein River to signify your eternal love. 

I thought it was the coolest idea and had a great time taking pictures of these locks, looking for really original locks or seeing how old some of the locks were. 

So, as an anniversary gift this year, Greg got me a lock engraved with our names and will lock it on the bridge for us when he returns this summer.  I will sadly not be able to go as I will be with a newborn.  He also got a collage frame of all the lock pictures we captured this summer plus a picture of our lock.  It was a lucky bonus that the lock is copper-colored and our "traditional" gift for each other is copper. 

I was absolutely blown away by his thoughtfulness and the meaning that it carries.  I don't want this to be bragging, but it will be nice on days where I am frustated with situations that I can look back and read about something special that he did for me.  The pictures below are of the bridge and all of the locks. 

Picture of the locks on the bridge

 





 

 An awesome owl lock that I found

 

 

More locks on the bridge.  I wonder where Greg will put ours :)

 



Now, on to my present.  Our traditional gifts were wool and copper this year, like I mentioned earlier.  I got him a wool pull-over sweater for the winter.  Epic fail compared to his gift.  He has set the bar pretty high for next year...maybe I'll get him that helicopter that he's been eyeing for Christmas  :)

25 Days of Christmas

I don't know what it is about Christmas time, but you try to cram as much stuff in one short month as possible.  And every year you try to out-do last year, deeming this year "The Best Christmas Ever!"  I think that's what every parent loves to hear to come out of their children's mouth.  So, this year instead of leaving one million things to the last minute I tried to give our family some breathing room and just do one little thing every day.  The list below is 25 Days til Christmas.  You definitely don't have to do it in any specific order, and I even added a few things on the end if you are over-achievers :) 

25 Days to Christmas

1.    Go cut down a Christmas Tree

2.   Decorate Christmas Tree

3.    Look at Christmas Lights

4.   Read “Gingerbread Baby” and make gingerbread men/gingerbread house

5.   Hang Christmas lights

6.   Write letters to Santa

7.   Give a “secret” gift to someone

8.   Make homemade ornaments and hang on tree

9.   Go buy special Hallmark ornaments and hang on tree

10.Volunteer together (fill food bags at church-Dec. 3-5)

11.Make a birthday cake for Jesus and read the Bible story

12.Watch The Grinch and drink hot cocoa

13.  Make a fire and roast marshmallows

14.  Go to Christmas in the Park (free). 

15.  Read Frosty the Snowman and watch the movie

16.  Make Reindeer mix to feed to the reindeer

17.  Buy Christmas presents for others/some one special

18.  Watch Polar Express and drink hot cocoa

19.  Make snowflakes out of paper and hang around the house

20.  String popcorn and hang outside for the birds

21.  Visit Santa Claus

22.  Take Christmas pictures with the family

23.Make sugar cookies for Santa

24.Open one gift on Christmas Eve

25.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

**More things geared to grown-ups

·        Watch Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, Elf

·        Outside fire pit or bonfire

·        Bundle up and take a lot of blankets and hot cocoa and lay outside and look at the stars

·        Go to a Christmas Craft Show or boutique and look around

·        Spend the day with loved ones, go get coffee somewhere and catch up!

·        Invite someone over for dinner that you don’t usually have over

·        Go caroling with church or friends

·        Go ice skating

·        Go to Mt. Aggie

·        Have a Cookie Exchange

·        Have a cookie/gingerbread house making party

My 5 year old Nolan was super excited to see this on the fridge.  He loves "projects" and to see a huge list just made his eyes light up.  It doesn't hurt that he loves Christmas time either. 

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Lego Man and Rapunzel

Lego Man

Wow.  It's been awhile since I've posted anything.  I guess I've been waiting for creativity to strike, and Halloween was the perfect opportunity!  Nolan and I were looking through costumes on Pinterest (a horrible addicting habit) and he saw this Lego costume.  It didn't look too hard, and it wasn't.  We went to Greg's store and picked out a box that would fit his chest.  I cut down six Red Solo Cups and hot glued them on to the front.  I cut out openings for his arms and head and then re-inforced the openings with duct tape.  I then got some red spray paint (because Nolan HAD to be a red lego) and sprayed it in the backyard.  I found a Lego logo on the internet, blew it up to extreme size and pasted it to the back, just to make sure if anyone was confused about what he was supposed to be. 


 He had a great time posing for the camera.  He had some various "Lego" emotions such as: sad, mad, surprised and the faves of being patriotic, strong and surprised.  Maybe you can match up the emotions with the pictures!

Pulling on the braids

  This year Mallory went as a princess (of course).  I thought some braids would turn her in to the cutest Rapunzel ever.  I crocheted a pink beanie and then took a lot of yellow yarn to make the braids.  I left a section at the front for her to see out of, and then pulled the yarn through the last crocheted row.  It was super funny to see her wear it.  The first time she put it on she hated it, but after a lot of convincing she decided to sport the braids all through the Halloween party at school and through all the events on Halloween Day.  The only problem being, whenever she was annoyed or sad, she would pull (and stretch out) the braids like she was holding on for dear life.  This hat will be a great addition to the dress-up box for the rest of the year!

Sad Rapunzel

Disgruntled Rapunzel

Germany Mission Trip 2012

So, it's been a good 6 weeks since returning from Germany and am amazed how fast the time has gone.  I had the best of intentions of writing down everything that happened right when we got back to Texas, but crazily 6 weeks passed in the blink of an eye and here I am trying to remember everything!

I guess I'll start at the beginning.  Our decision to take our son, Nolan, with us was decided when returned to first time from Germany.  We were very excited to share this experience with him.  But, being like a mom, I knew there would be two outcomes to this venture.

#1:  Nolan would break down at the airport, on the airplane, at baseball camp and he would have to worst time of his life
OR
#2:  Nolan would love every minute and be able to handle all situations.
Thank God he leaned more to Scenario #2.

My biggest relief came when we boarded our first flight.  It was a connecting flight that went to Atlanta, Georgia.  It was Nolan's first flight ever and I was expecting a meltdown.  We got on the plane, buckled up and took off with no problem.  Then...the turbulence started.  Being a grown-up, the first thing that came to mind was that we were going to crash and burn.  I was worried Nolan was going to think the same thing.  I looked at him and he said with the biggest smile on his face, "This is awesome!"  Crisis #1 averted.

We were blessed to stay with the same family that we did last year, so it was easy to fall in to the same routine that we had the previous summer.

It wasn't all smooth sailing those first few days though.  We did a lot of sight-seeing a LOT of walking and the time change messed up Nolan's internal clock.  One of the first nights we were there it was almost midnight and he's crying in bed, saying he's not tired.  But the look on his face was telling me he was about to pass out any minute.  He spent the next morning sleeping in and playing with our host mom, Barbara and baby Mia.  He was in heaven playing with Duplo blocks.  This extra time to himself help Greg and I in more ways than one.

At Baseball Camp, we were blessed with another great team.  Go Cubs!  We had  two players on our team from the previous year, and it was great to have them on the team again.  The baseball practices were great, some minor hiccups, but overall couldn't have asked for better.  The Team Times (where we discuss Jesus and our relationship with Him) seemed to be much tougher this year, which was a great thing!  The discussions we had were really great and it was nice to talk to these wonderful kids.
The biggest blessing of all was how nice and wonderful everyone was towards Nolan.  I never expected how caring and loving everyone would be towards him.  He was always taken care of even if it wasn't by me or Greg.  He always had a watchful eye on him.  They gave him (sometimes secretly) soda, gummies and candy.  It made him feel special, and it warmed my heart to see that they were trying to befriend him.  He left with many great relationships, and new buddies.  It's so sweet to see that he sleeps with a bear (a Cub, get it?) every night that one of our team members gave him.  I never thought that God would work through Nolan to build these relationships, but He does work in wondrous ways!

After Baseball Camp the Siegburg Church gave us the gift of two sight-seeing days around Germany.  We went to Aachen, a mustard factory, a glass-blowing factory and a great small village with an awesome Christmas Store.  I could probably fill up ten posts describing all the beautiful churches, cities and sculptures we saw, but I'll leave that for another time.

Some things that I learned this year in Germany:
1.  Nolan will only eat candy, bread, nutella and "american" cereal.
2.  Bring an extra pair of shoes for Nolan b/c he literally wore a hole in his other pair walking so much
3.  Bring warmer clothes!  We had wonderful weather last year, but weren't lucky this year.  Tons of rain and pretty chilly too!
4.  Movies on a tablet to keep a small child occupied is awesome!
5.  It IS possible to do a "Trust Fall" with teenagers...no one was dropped!
6.  American DVD's don't work in German DVD players.  Weird, right?
7.  You will be stopped at customs for bringing a large statue in to the US.  (It was actually a nutcracker)
8.  Little children DO get patted down at the airport.  Super weird and super awkward, but it didn't bother Nolan one bit.
9.  Ice cream eaten overlooking the Rhein River is the best kind :)
10.  I want to go back again next year!!

I feel as though I have only written a small fraction of all the things that happened.  I wish I could describe ever wonderful thing that happened, but there isn't enough time in the day for that.  Some pictures are below:

 Plane ride. Ready to go!

 In front of the Dom in Koln

 Love!

 A neat water feature in Koln.  Trying not to get wet.

 A bridge with locks on it to signify relationships.

 Silly!

 Team Building

 The Cubbies!

 Nolan up to bat

The Human Knot

Have a great day!